Highlanders

The Highlanders have one foot in the Super Rugby Pacific finals after shock No 10 selection Sam Gilbert guided them to a thumping, nine-try, 61-10 win ...

Like elite athletes at their peak, our sports journalists are highly trained in the art of news. They lacked intensity from the start, and have now copped two heavy back-to-back losses to Kiwi opposition. So we're asking you to support us with more than your attention. The contest was over by that stage. In the midfield, Thomas Umaga-Jensen was a major handful for the Force with his size and footwork, while the scrum was strong when it needed to be. Red card: Richard Kahui (Force) 73 mins

App users click here for latest update. Highlanders 28 Force 10. Highlanders - Makalio, Gregory & Mikaele-Tu'u 2 tries, Gilbert 4 conversions.

Highlanders assistant coach Clarke Dermody says Super Rugby has “missed playing the South Africans” as he threw support behind the proposed global club ...

“I think it would be a tick if we can get up and running. So I think we do miss them.” “The scheduling and things, like in terms of the season, if everyone can get aligned on that, then I think it would be a great opportunity to help Japanese rugby grow. “For example, if my club were to become champions of Japan and have an opportunity to have a crack at a few of the top teams in the world, if you’re a young Japanese player, if that doesn’t excite you, then I’m not too sure what does. “In my position as a forwards coach, it was always a great challenge to get ready for the South Africans and the Argentinians. “It’s been talked about for a few years now, so if they could get up and running and fit it into a window that is fair for both hemispheres, then I think it’s a great concept.

Live updates: The Highlanders take on the Western Force at Forsyth Barr Stadium as they look to make it three wins on the bounce.

Try-fest in Dunedin with five in the first quarter, four of them to the Highlanders as they claim big early lead.

After banking two wins in consecutive weeks against the Drua and Reds, they return home to Forsyth Barr in eighth on the Super Rugby ladder.

Whether it's All Blacks coach Ian Foster, or his Crusaders and Highlanders counterparts, the answer is the same. Do you miss the South Africans? Yes, I do.

Stylistically, the South Africans represent a challenge that Super Rugby Pacific cannot provide. Anyone who has watched the Stormers’ No.8 Evan Roos in the United Rugby Championship is bearing witness to the sort of big, aggressive, athletic forward that for many years improved Australian and New Zealand opponents. The Super Rugby door for South Africa should therefore never be closed. Granted, South Africa has well documented issues with player drain, but the Sharks were leading Super Rugby before it was cancelled in 2020. (For their part, NZ Rugby has always framed its decision on Super Rugby as COVID-driven, but let’s not go down that rabbit hole.) Do you miss the South Africans in Super Rugby? Yes, I do.

The Highlanders have made a surprising selection decision this week, with Sam Gilbert named at flyhalf. He's plied his professional trade on the wing and at ...

The Highlanders didn't quite have it entirely their own way in the first half. The game was well gone by that point. They haven't since climbed too far, but far enough.

The Highlanders ran in eight tries as they thrashed the Western Force 61-10 in their Super Rugby Pacific match in Dunedin on Friday night.

"We'll take the win, they don't come easy in this comp ... we're just trying to build our game for the playoffs." Highlanders captain Aaron Smith said it was a big result as they look to make an impact in the playoffs. "You could see the energy ... really proud of our effort, a full 23-man squad, to finish like that is pretty special." It again highlighted the gulf between the Force and the competition's elite, falling to 0-3 against New Zealand-based sides this campaign, while it was a third-straight win for the Highlanders as they continue a late-season charge. "The physicality, the breakdown area, we were really poor in that area tonight, the Highlanders had a flurry of quick ball." The early try seemed to break the Force's spirit and the points piled up as Rhys Marshall and Folau Fakatava crossed for the Highlanders, and matters only got worse when Richard Kahui was sent off for a high shot.

It was something the team was seemingly incapable of last time it took to Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium tonight. Certainly Australian side Western Force may ...

It was their third win in a row, crucially opening a gap from the Force in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot. By the time Marino Mikaele-Tu'u crossed for his second - striding over off the back of a scrum in the 22nd minute - the Highlanders led 28-5. A kick to the corner, a tidy lineout, a well-worked build-up and the use of space out to the right allowed the hooker to give the Highlanders the lead in the second minute of the game.