Super Rugby: Waisake Naholo double helps Highlanders to victory
By AFP
Last Updated: 07/05/16 4:04pm
Waisake Naholo bagged a double on his return to Super Rugby as the Highlanders beat the Chiefs 26-13 in Hamilton.
The All Blacks winger was the top try-scorer last year and he touched down twice in the second half on his return to action after breaking his leg in the opening round.
Victory confirmed that the defending champions are serious contenders again, with the Crusaders now leading the competition courtesy of their 38-5 win over the Reds on Friday.
The Highlanders, who face the Crusaders next weekend, have lost three of 10 games but lie just five points behind the leaders and captain Ben Smith said the return of Naholo had brought a new energy to the side.
"He's had that presence during the week at training and the boys get excited when they see the ball in his hands. It's great to have him back," Smith said.
The Chiefs had been the competition pacesetters but their early season cohesion has deserted them in recent weeks with narrow wins over the Auckland Blues, Wellington Hurricanes and Coastal Sharks.
"For one reason or another, the passes weren't sticking. We have to be better, it's disappointing," Chiefs captain Sam Cane said.
The Chiefs set out with a game plan to run the Highlanders off the park but instead let themselves down with repeated handling errors and were forced to resort to a kicking game for territory.
They had the first points on the board with a close-range Aaron Cruden penalty but, although they dominated possession for most of the first half, they were held back from the line by a watertight Highlanders defence.
The southerners, however, made the most of their rare forays into Chiefs territory and moved into a 13-3 lead.
Lima Sopoaga landed two penalties and prop Daniel Lienert-Brown scampered 22 metres for the opening try.
Naholo scored his first try, finishing off a break by fellow Fijian wing Patrick Osborne early in the second half, when the Chiefs were down to 14 men with Charlie Ngatai in the sinbin for a tip tackle.
Ngatai returned to the field to make amends by setting Cruden away for a try in the corner as the Chiefs reduced the gap to 18-8.
But Naholo put the outcome beyond doubt with his second try in the right-hand corner after almost the entire Highlanders side featured in a lengthy build-up.
Sopoaga missed the conversion but landed a second penalty before Sam Vaka scored a consolation try for the Chiefs on full-time.
