The Highlanders have cruised to a 33-15 win over the Stormers at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin tonight.
FULLTIME - HIGHLANDERS 33 STORMERS 15
Highlanders halfback Aaron Smith has the final say booting the ball into touch as the fulltime hooter sounds.
78 mins - HIGHLANDERS 33 STORMERS 15
TRY! Aaron Smith scores his second of the match for the Highlanders after some clever passing from his teammates in the lead up.
Lima Sopoaga's kick at goal is good.
73 mins - HIGHLANDERS 26 STORMERS 15
A lot of mistakes late in the game from both the Highlanders and Stormers. The Highlanders are guilty of giving away too many penalties, slowing down their momentum on attack.
64 mins - HIGHLANDERS 26 STORMERS 15
NO TRY! Highlanders' star halfback Aaron Smith goes for a run himself at the back of the ruck and catches the Stormers' defence napping just outside the Stormers' 22m line. He steps several Stormers defenders before delivering a long pass out to Waisake Naholo on the right wing. Naholo has noone in front of him but officials rule the pass from Smith is forward.
60 mins - HIGHLANDERS 26 STORMERS 15
TURNOVER! Highlanders winger Tevita Nabura comes up with a great play and manages to hold a Stormers player inside his 22m line long enough for his teammates to come over and give him a hand. The ball goes to ground and the ref says it is a scum feed to the Highlanders after the Stormers took the ball into the maul.
55 mins - HIGHLANDERS 26 STORMERS 15
PENALTY! The Stormers get out of their danger zone as the Highlanders are penalised for an infringement in the scrum. A much needed relieving penalty for the Stormers. They have a line-out at halfway.
48 mins - HIGHLANDERS 26 STORMERS 15
TRY! The passing game from the Highlanders and offloads is causing all sorts of trouble for the Stormers. They hold onto the ball and Rob Thompson breaks through the Stormers defence and his forwards rumble it forward with the some clever pick and goes. And it is Luke Whitelock that comes away with the try crashing over down the left flank.
Lima Sopoaga is on target with his kick at goal from out wide.
43 mins - HIGHLANDERS 19 STORMERS 15
NO TRY! Highlanders' winger Tevita Nabura puts in a sneaky chip kick in behind the Stormers defence and he manages to get another boot to it. Highlanders lock Jackson Hemopo gets to the ball first and only needs to hold onto the ball and ground it but he fumbles it over the try-line after a Stormers players knocks the ball out of his grasp.
40 mins - HIGHLANDERS 19 STORMERS 15
And we are back! Damian Willemse kicks off deep towards the Highlanders.
HALFTIME - HIGHLANDERS 19 STORMERS 15
An entertaining first half of rugby from both sides. The Highlanders were unlucky not to score through Ben Smith just before the break. The Stormers are doing well to stay well and truly in this match, but the injuries in the first spell could be telling later in the second half.
39 mins - HIGHLANDERS 19 STORMERS 15
NO TRY! After an excellent break from Highlanders' midfielder Teihorangi Walden he manages to drop off and offload to his skipper Ben Smith. Smith is over the try-line but he penalised for a double movenment from official Glen Jackson. The hooter sounds and the Stormers tap the ball and kick it to touch.
33 mins - HIGHLANDERS 19 STORMERS 15
TRY! Waisake Naholo starts it for the Highlanders and finishes it. He makes a solid catch at halfway before passing the ball to Lima Sopoaga, Sopoaga then links up with Rob Thompson who finds some space down the left flank. Rob Thompson delivers a pin-point offload inside to Naholo who runs closer to the goal posts to dot the ball down and make the conversion attempt easier for his first-five.
Lima Sopoaga lands the conversion from easy range.
30 mins - HIGHLANDERS 12 STORMERS 15
THREE! Highlanders prop Siate Tokolahi has been penalised for a no arms tackle on Stormers lock Jan de Klerk. Stormers fullback SP Marais retakes the lead for his side with a successful penalty kick from 35m out.
26 mins - HIGHLANDERS 12 STORMERS 12
MISS! The Highlanders are penalised for an offside play and Stormers' fullback SP Marais misses his penalty kick attempt from 40m out.
20 mins - HIGHLANDERS 12 STORMERS 12
TRY! Take a bow Mr Naholo. Waisake Naholo breaks three tackles stepping past his opposite Raymond Rhule before busting through two more tackles before selflessly passing the ball back on the inside to his Highlanders teammate Aaron Smith to score closer to the goal posts.
Lima Sopoaga levels the scores at 12-12 with a successful kick at goal.
15 mins - HIGHLANDERS 5 STORMERS 12
TRY! The young Stormers first-five Damian Willemse pounces on a poor pass by Highlanders' Rob Thompson and races away 65 metres to score and give his side the lead.
SP Marais is successful with his conversion attempt at goal.
10 mins - HIGHLANDERS 5 STORMERS 5
TRY! The big lock Chris van Zyl crashes over to score for the Stormers down the left edge. Stormers looking impressive on attack, relentless with multiple phases and showing great patience.
The kick is no good by SP Marais.
3 mins - HIGHLANDERS 5 STORMERS 0
TRY! What a brilliant start! It all began just inside their own half. The Highlanders hold on to the ball and opt to shift it from left to right. Some great tip on passing from the Highlanders forwards and backs. It's Teihorangi Walden who cuts back in from the right flank and delivers the final pass for Liam Squire to score down the right side.
Lima Sopoaga is unable to land the extras.
HIGHLANDERS 0 STORMERS 0
KICK-OFF!
And we are underway! Highlanders' first-five Lima Sopoaga gets things started with a long kick off to the Stormers.
PRE-MATCH:
The Highlanders began their 2018 Super Rugby season with a hiss and a roar, defeating the Blues 41-34 in Dunedin a fortnight ago.
The Stormers have lost two of their three matches in the opening rounds of the Super Rugby competition, going down 45-28 against the Crusaders last week in Christchurch.
The Highlanders are coming off a bye and have an impressive record at home winning their last seven games in Dunedin and scoring 40+ points in all but one of those games.
Expect another big performance from Highlanders' star halfback Aaron Smith and midfielders Rob Thompson and Teihorangi Walden who were outstanding for the Otago franchise in their opening match against the Blues.
The last time these two sides met the Highlanders thumped the Stormers 57-14 in round 10 last year in Dunedin.
TEAMS:
Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (c), 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Rob Thompson, 12 Teihorangi Walden, 11 Tevita Nabura, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 Dillon Hunt, 6 Liam Squire, 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Jackson Hemopo, 3 Siate Tokolahi, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Daniel Lienert-Brown.
Reserves: 16 Greg Pleasants-Tate, 17 Aki Seiuli, 18 Tyrel Lomax, 19 Shannon Frizell, 20 Elliot Dixon, 21 Josh Renton, 22 Fletcher Smith, 23 Matt Faddes.
Stormers: 15 SP Marais, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Kobus van Dyk, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Chris van Zyl, 4 Jan de Klerk, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Ramone Samuels, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Reserves: 16 Dean Muir, 17 JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Pieter-Steph du Toit (George Whitehead), 21 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 22 Justin Phillips, 23 JJ Engelbrecht.
10 mins - HIGHLANDERS 5 STORMERS 5
10 mins - HIGHLANDERS 5 STORMERS 5
10 mins - HIGHLANDERS 5 STORMERS 5
15 mins - HIGHLANDERS 5 STORMERS 12
48 mins - HIGHLANDERS 26 STORMERS 15
64 mins - HIGHLANDERS 26 STORMERS 15
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