Highlanders v Drua
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@frugby said in Highlanders v Drua:
Dunshea doesn’t strike me as the type to go overseas
Money is a great driver. It is the reason I don't live in Dunedin anymore. This is a matter for the Landers main thread anyway
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@Bovidae I’m unaware of any exact rules, I Just know they get a per match bonus and after I think playing 5 or 6 games they are moved into the full squad, granted this was a few years back now. I remember it happened to Richard Buckman at the Highlanders when he burst on to the scene.
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@Mr-Fish said in Highlanders v Drua:
Interesting that Robinson has been dropped completely.
Yeah, I guess Gilbert has more miles on the clock at fullback this year, but I wouldn't have minded seeing how Robinson goes there if required. Probably not looking to sub 10/15 though.
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@Bones said in Highlanders v Drua:
@Mr-Fish said in Highlanders v Drua:
Interesting that Robinson has been dropped completely.
Yeah, I guess Gilbert has more miles on the clock at fullback this year, but I wouldn't have minded seeing how Robinson goes there if required. Probably not looking to sub 10/15 though.
I imagine the opposite. Doubt JRK plays the 80 in his return to the top level… that said Robinson worth a go at 15.
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@Mr-Fish said in Highlanders v Drua:
Interesting that Robinson has been dropped completely.
has he started every game this year? looked a bit spent over the last couple of weeks so maybe a combo based on a bit of rest
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@Kiwiwomble given that Hastie has been dropped too I’d assume that’s the case.
JJ is known for flogging the starting team pretty hard and we probably should have rested and rotated Dunshea, Vikenna and Tangitau prior to them being injured
I’m a bit worried Venevui Lasanga, Fabian Holland and Big Jim might be in the same boat soon too without rotation.
Ma’au probably needs a week off as well.
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Just reading through the match pack: https://super.rugby/superrugby/match-centre/match-packs/2025-rd9/2025-rd9-highlanders-v-fijian-drua/
This stat seems absurd to me... "The Highlanders have gained 161 metres more per game than they’ve allowed their opposition this Super Rugby Pacific season, the most of any team in the competition; in fact, no other team has outgained their opponent by more than 50 metres per game."
Someone who is smarter than me might be able to interpret this, but I read this as we are making plenty of metres, so the issue is that our loosies aren't getting to the ruck quick enough... OR does this mean we have guys doing to much individual stuff, inadvertently running away from their support?
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@frugby said in Highlanders v Drua:
This stat seems absurd to me... "The Highlanders have gained 161 metres more per game than they’ve allowed their opposition this Super Rugby Pacific season, the most of any team in the competition; in fact, no other team has outgained their opponent by more than 50 metres per game."
Someone who is smarter than me might be able to interpret this, but I read this as we are making plenty of metres, so the issue is that our loosies aren't getting to the ruck quick enough... OR does this mean we have guys doing to much individual stuff, inadvertently running away from their support?
Not sure this really answers the question you’ve raised but one of the things I’ve noticed with the Highlanders is that they have an unusual combination of attacking and defensive gameplans. On the one hand, they defend very aggressively, looking for constant dominance through double tackles and upper-wraps to prevent the offload. On the other hand, they build a lot of rucks on attack, making plenty of carries up the middle. (So: dominant defence + possession game = significant gain in metres versus opposition).
This is unusual because both gameplans require a lot of energy from your players. Typically, teams choose one or the other: either you play a pressure game in defence (attacking through kicking and counter-attack à la Springboks) or you play a possession game in attack by building lots of phases (while defending more with a drift and focusing on the breakdown). Jamie Joseph maybe thinks their superior fitness allows them to combine both but at several instances the Highlanders have had a dominant defensive set, only for them to run out of defenders on the edge or someone falling off a tackle a bit too easily, allowing the opposition an easy and quick score. It would suggest they, in fact, do not have the conditioning to do this.
So it isn’t really working right now. Like someone said, the Highlanders need to start kicking more, like they did in the beginning of the season. At the moment, they’re not clinical enough in attack and running out of steam in defence for it to properly work.
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@frugby said in Highlanders v Drua:
Just reading through the match pack: https://super.rugby/superrugby/match-centre/match-packs/2025-rd9/2025-rd9-highlanders-v-fijian-drua/
This stat seems absurd to me... "The Highlanders have gained 161 metres more per game than they’ve allowed their opposition this Super Rugby Pacific season, the most of any team in the competition; in fact, no other team has outgained their opponent by more than 50 metres per game."
Someone who is smarter than me might be able to interpret this, but I read this as we are making plenty of metres, so the issue is that our loosies aren't getting to the ruck quick enough... OR does this mean we have guys doing to much individual stuff, inadvertently running away from their support?
That stat analysis is really interesting. Carry metres, defenders beaten and offloads are top four but try success rate is 10th and line breaks is 8th. So the attack while seemingly ambitious and results in beaten defenders, doesn't result in clean line breaks and tries. If you then look at individual stats, you see that the carry metres and defenders beaten is dominated by Tavatavanawa, Tangitau, and Nareki.
You can also see the value of Hastie's kicking and offloading game.
What is also promising is the dominance of Howden and Dunshea in the lineout. In combination with Holland and Haig, the Highlanders really should have the most dominant lineout.
Tackle success, turnovers won and conceded, line out success, scrum success (assuming would be higher if not for the decisions in the Brumbies game) show the set piece and the defence (fifth best points conceded) are working well. But we also four players in the top most penalised players.
What is worrying is kicks from hand, penalties conceded, red and yellow cards, and ruck success (11th!) You have to wonder with all the stats that are so favourable to the highlanders in terms of tackles made and dominant tackles from the locks and loose forwards, they run out of gas on the offensive side and can't hit the rucks with the same vigour.
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@Landers92 said in Highlanders v Drua:
Loft was actually named to play for Taieri today so if he ended up playing in that game it could end up being a big day for him
Looks like he scored two tries for Taieri as well. Hayden Michaels is out for the season I heard on Paul Dwyer's Club Footy show.
Really looking forward to seeing Haig and JRK returning.
