Highlanders 26-20 Blues: Sonny Bill Williams suffers defeat on return to action
By AP
Last Updated: 08/04/17 12:13pm
Fly-half Marty Banks kicked 16 points to overshadow Sonny Bill Williams' return to Super Rugby on Saturday as the Highlanders claimed a 26-20 win over the Blues.
Banks kicked four penalties and two conversions to help the Highlanders recover from a 20-13 deficit at half-time to beat the Blues for the second time this season after their 16-12 win in round three.
Williams took the field in the 54th minute for his first appearance since he was forced out of the Olympic sevens tournament in Rio with an Achilles tendon injury.
Only a minute earlier, Banks had landed his third goal to give the Highlanders their first lead in the match at 23-20
Williams made one threatening break, snuffed out by the Highlanders' defence, but in the 71st minute made a major passing error which allowed the home side to carry the ball the length of the field and set up Banks' last penalty.
That goal gave the Highlanders their final six-point margin and forced the Blues, in the last nine minutes, to chase the converted try they needed to snatch victory.
The Highlanders' defence was up to the challenge and the Blues saw their fourth loss in seven matches this season to stay at the bottom of the New Zealand conference.
