Highlanders Are the Real Deal, Deserve Respect as Individuals

Highlanders fans have been hearing all year that their team is not up to it, that they would fall over due to their lack of big-game experience and large number of "no-name" players.

Yet here they are, set to line up against the Hurricanes in the final of this year's edition of Super Rugby.

After a stellar regular season in which they had one of the hardest schedules in Super Rugby history, the team entered the playoffs with the second most competition points on the overall table. 

That was not enough for doubters though, with the southern men having entered both of their playoff matches against the Chiefs and Waratahs as underdogs in the eyes of many.

It is hard to understand why. The Highlanders had beaten the Chiefs twice and Waratahs once during the season, while not losing to either. They have shown their ability to play to various game plans and do so successfully. 

Both teams tried to beat them in their playoff fixtures with big, bruising forward packs, keeping the game tight and literally smashing the Highlanders in the contact situations.

Matt King/Getty Images

That said a lot about the perception of this Highlanders forward pack, which has been so good all year—particularly over the past two months.

We are frequently inundated with statements from north of the Cook Strait saying how the forward pack is full of "no-names" and it seems the teams themselves bought into it.

Perhaps they are not a pack of big name players. But that does not mean they are not good players, and they proved it by doing to the Chiefs and Waratahs what those two sides wanted to do to the Highlanders. 

The men in the Highlanders forward pack have been playing to a high standard all year. Much has been made of how they work well as a group. That is true. But it seems to be ignored, outside of the Highlanders region, just how good these men are playing as individuals.

Take the front row for example.

Liam Coltman is playing as well as any hooker in the country. His work rate, like the others, is fantastic. He often leads the line in the kick chase, gets up with fantastic line speed on defence and brings physicality and strength in contact. On top of this, his lineout throwing has been top notch, something that has put a dampener on the otherwise outstanding Dane Coles this year.

Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Then there is the propping duo of Brendon Edmonds and Josh Hohneck. Again, it is hard to think of two better props in New Zealand rugby right now. Not only are they rock solid in the scrum, they demonstrate exceptional mobility around the park. Both are physical in contact, get around the field at a tremendous pace and, most notably, get back into the game quickly after making a tackle.

Behind them there are a group of locks in which you can pick any two men and be confident that they will do a good job for you. Over the past two weeks Mark Reddish and Alex Ainley have been outstanding.

Their set-piece work has been solid, but it is in the open where they come into their own. The speed at which they get around the field is like they are loose forwards, yet they get through the workload associated with tight forwards and both bring a relentless attitude, particularly on defence.

Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Then you have Joe Wheeler and Tom Franklin—the first-choice duo at the start of the season—who both had their seasons disrupted by injury. Wheeler is similar to the other two, a reliable lineout jumper who just keeps making tackles and hitting rucks. Franklin is slightly looser, although still a hard worker, and possesses good ball skills—most notably a handy offload.

Heading into their semi-final last weekend, it was widely remarked how many Wallabies the Waratahs forward pack contained, while the Highlanders pack contained zero All Blacks. 

Perhaps that says more about the Wallabies, however, as it is not hard to imagine most of these Highlanders making a difference to the Wallabies if they were Australian.

In fact, is it that much of a stretch to say that none of these men would look out of place in an All Black squad? 

The locks have played as well as Luke Romano and James Broadhurst over the past year or two, while the props offer more in an all-round sense than most in the All Blacks. Liam Coltman would possibly feel most aggrieved after being snubbed in a position where New Zealand have a lack of depth and Codie Taylor, another uncapped international player, was brought in.

In the loose forwards they are just as potent, if not perhaps quite banging down the doors of the All Blacks to the same extent.

Nasi Manu has been as valuable as anyone to the Highlanders over the past five years. He is a strong ball-carrier and provides go-forward, while also offering relentless defence and a work rate few can top. Indeed, it is not uncommon for him to lead the team in both carries and tackles.

Rob Jefferies/Getty Images

Then there is the multitude of flankers, and all of them have been reliable when called upon. They normally have one ranging down the right side of the field and another covering the whole park. 

It is usually Elliot Dixon or Gareth Evans that they use in the ranging role. Both run well in the open, but both are also hard workers, chasing kicks and making plenty of tackles when play comes their way, while also offering quick support at the breakdown.

Then there is Dan Pryor, a man who has been playing top rugby for Northland for years but has been overlooked by Super franchises up until this year. His speed combined with physicality and relentlessness has been huge. Like the other loose forwards, he brings the ability to be a worker, as well as being able to make an impact with a key play.

Rob Jefferies/Getty Images

They have all been outstanding this year, and if they were players with small reputations at the start of the season, they certainly should not be now. Each has proven himself to be a top player and many would be playing international rugby if they were from any other country.

Yet they are not getting the respect they deserve.

They have made it to the final, and while they play outstanding rugby as a collective, they are also playing exceptionally well as individuals.

In the backs they have any number of match-winners, and despite having played some scintillating rugby this year and scoring some breathtaking tries, they are still accused by Stuff writer Mark Reason of being negative.

Then there was this piece published by the New Zealand Herald, suggesting that the Highlanders would "find the Hurricanes impossible" and still referring to them as a pack of "no-names," rather than acknowledging that they indeed might actually be fairly handy players.

What else do they have to do?

Rob Jefferies/Getty Images

They have won games through playing running rugby. They have won games through kicking tactically and being clinical on attack. Then have won games through withstanding copious amounts of pressure and taking the few chances they have been given.

They are no one-trick ponies.

Of those wins, they have claimed the scalps of the past two champions five times—twice on their home grounds. They also dispatched of the South African Conference champions Stormers in Dunedin and the Crusaders, the biggest victims of the conference system, on their home turf.

Even the Hurricanes only just escaped with a win, after a controversial decision denied the Highlanders a draw in the dying seconds of their meeting in Dunedin earlier in the year.

Do not read too much into the second meeting between those two sides this year. The Highlanders fielded a starting XV missing Ben Smith, Malakai Fekitoa, Patrick Osborne, Aaron Smith, Josh Hohneck, Nasi Manu and brought Liam Coltman off the bench. 

Those players will, most likely, take the field this weekend, making the Highlanders a team that are more than capable of lifting the trophy.

And what if they do?

Will they still be a team of no-names who are getting by based off their team culture and good attitude?

Perhaps that will be the storyline some will use.

Those within the region see the team differently though. This is a good team filled with good players. They may not have the big names, but that has largely come as a result of them being overlooked, rather than because they are not as good as those elsewhere.

There is undoubtedly a great culture within the squad; indeed, it is inherent within the whole community, which has helped.

But it is time these men get the respect they deserve as individuals too.

Perhaps they just need to keep on playing well. Eventually, performances speak for themselves.