The Highlanders have their first game at home of the season and they will be hosting the Waratahs.
The Highlanders are zero from two and will desperately be hoping to get their first win of the season.
The Waratahs have won at home and lost away so far this season.
Kick-off in Dunedin at 08:35 SA Time.
Referee: JC Fortuin (South Africa)
TJ’s: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
TMO: Shane McDermott (New Zealand)
Highlanders:
Starting XV: 15 James Wilson, 14 Paul Williams, 13 Niva Ta’auso, 12 Johnny Leota, 11 Fetu’u Vainikolo, 10 Michael Delany, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Steven Setephano, 7 Alando Soakai, 6 Hayden Triggs, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Isaac Ross, 3 Clint Newland, 2 Jason Macdonald (captain), 1 Jamie Mackintosh.
Replacements: 16 David Hall, 17 Chris King, 18 Adam Thomson, 19 Tim Boys, 20 Toby Morland, 21 Ben W Smith, 22 Brett Mather.
Waratahs:
Starting XV: 15 Lachie Turner, 14 Timana Tahu, 13 Ben Jacobs, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Brett Sheehan, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh (captain), 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Will Caldwell, 3 Matt Dunning, 2 Adam Freier, 1 Sekope Kepu
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Dan Palmer, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Beau Robinson, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Sam Harris,22 Alfi Mafi
Tweet
Haha Tahs caught for not taking the tap kick correctly! Ref is on fire! Actually reffing the breakdown quite well too 😯
Tahs hav the same problem as the stormers, play good looking rugby but battle to convert it into points 🙄
Try to Vanikolo from a scrum!
Highlander 5
Tahs 0
Palu should look at Diack on how to catch a high bomb!!! 🙄
I like this referee! YC for pro foul, no 10 warnings or anything straight to the bin! Just like it was intended
😎
Highlnders #5 got the YC
Kilts 5
Tahs 3
22min
Commentators not as impressed as I am with ref. Ok he might be a bit pedantic but he is calling it right IMO! And is CONSISTANT!
Tahs on the attack but fumble and the Kilts break-out to score at the other end!
Kilts 12
Tahs 3
Highlanders back to 15 men and Turner goes off injured!
Tahs have turned over their ball 13 times so far 😯
Hi jt
Finally the Tahs score in the corner by Ben Jacobs!!!
Converted
Kilts 12
Tahs 10
Hey Rbd! You in pomgolia?
Kilts 12
Tahs 10
HT score
Funny, always thought fortuin was one of our weaker refs. Glad he’s improved
I am indeed, Jt
After Deaker last night he is a breath of fresh air!!
Can’t remember who I picked, but I doubt it was the tartan mafia
The ref in the STormers game allowed so much crap at the breakdown that it was a free for all! Fortuin is doing it correctly IMO and penalizing what he sees! Ref should not worry about the flow of the game, that is up to the players IMO! Ref is there to referee and not to entertain the crowd and TV viewers! Be consistant and the players WILL fall in line! 😡
Nice play by the TAHS again but then Lote kicks it ❓
Difficult conditions now! Very wet and rain is heavier now 😕
Tahs attack well but manage to kick it away again and when they get it back they turn it over 5m out 🙄
Tahs turn it over again 5m out! Looking dangerous but can’t score! Now what other team does that sound like??
Elsom makes 40m but is brought down 2m out! TMO decision pending
No try but Tahs get the PK!
RBD, you looking at the game on sky?? Commentators are biased as hell, just as bad as the aussies! 🙄
PK hits the up-right
nah – not watching. I reckon Sky Sports is a complete rip-off for the amount of SH rugby they show
Good morning – close game.
Kilts going for touch from a PK but manage to kick it dead… Scrum back in Highlander territory!
Hi Ness
They show 5 S14 games this weekend, all tests, about 3 CC games a weekend so where is the problem? GP games have so many S12/S14 players it is like watching SH rugby lately. Quality is GOOD to!
Not nice conditions to play in. Hope the rain stays away for our game. A bit gloomy in Jhb again this morning.
shark-tank Highlanders 11
Western Sauce Highlanders 10
Boofy Highlanders 9
sharkboy Highlanders 9
Bru-El Highlanders 7
Sandshark Highlanders 6
King Shark Highlanders 6
shark_time Highlanders 5
Ollie Highlanders 5
Salmo Highlanders 5
blackshark Highlanders 4
Nita Highlanders 3
PostmanPat Highlanders 1
———————-
Ghost10 Waratahs 4
KSA Kette Waratahs 5
Pissant Waratahs 5
Whindy Waratahs 5
Dive Pass Waratahs 5
ZinZan Waratahs 5
IceBabe Waratahs 5
PaarlGimmie Waratahs 6
namboer Waratahs 6
Hmmm Waratahs 6
robdylan Waratahs 7
Kandas Waratahs 7
bryce_in_oz Waratahs 7
fattmann Waratahs 8
Debs Waratahs 9
Villie Waratahs 9
Fatality Waratahs 9
Wehan Waratahs 10
the_finman Waratahs 10
Sharkie Waratahs 12
Lylmik Waratahs 13
SauronShark Waratahs 14
Try for Tahs.
Intercept from the kick and Tahs score with Palu 😯
Palu gets a YC for afters! Deserved!
Kilts 12
Tahs 15
Haven’t seen that before – score a try and then get sent to the sin bin. Conversion missed.
PK at the re-start! Kilts going for posts!
surely the try should be disallowed if he committed a YC offence in the buildup?
Goodmorning everybody…
Had myself a very, very good time @ Newlands last night 😈
BTW, Jean De Villiers I think you need to go play on the wing 🙄
Penalty for Highlanders – missed.
Off the post 😯
hoesit Charlie… you see Bakgat Botha is out?
Hi Charlie.
01.03.08 09:55:23 – robdylan
Was not in the build up! Was after the try, Palu slpped Cowan and got a YC.
RD – out?
Yup – after the try.
ah – ok.
Yes, Ness. Bakkies has been withdrawn from the team for tonight
Hey Charlie, What is your view on my post: 01.03.08 09:28:58 – JT
Okay – went and read the article. That’s good news.
JT – good to see Fortuin doing something right. He is not one of my favourite refs.
Commentators giving JC unfair criticism IMO he has been very good tonight!
JT – see what you mean. They think he is not competent enough to be reffing at this level.
Rob,
Lekker soes a cracker my broe… 😛
Nessa,
Hallo
JT,
The referee for me allowed things both ways, but surely needs to take responsibility for their influence on a game… 😉
Mexted saying JC is incompetent! 😡
Deaker lost the Lions the game due to a bad mistake!
The idiot reffing the stormers game did not influence the result but was shocking.
IMO JC has been the best in the S14 for a while! Mexted is an idiot 👿
Really felt sorry for the Lions last night – not nice to lose that way.
Rob,
So vuilgat Botha is out
mexted is an idiot… isn’t that a proven fact by now? 😉
Tahs intercept, run 80m and then looses the ball 🙄
JT,
Ag well Mexted thinks that being part of a rugby academy makes him Mr. Know-it-all when it comes to rugby 😈
2nd interception in a row by the Tahs. Don’t know how they didn’t score from that – think he had no support.
Nessa,
At least it’s not in a final 😉
Bit of a scrappy game now. The guys all look tired.
01.03.08 10:09:25 – Nessa
It is tough supporting your team mate when he makes an intercept, by the time you realise it he has a 20-30m head start! 😯
Charlie – you are thinking along the same lines as me then. We know the feeling – and it’s not nice!
he is, Charlie…. the official story is the ankle injury is still not better… not sure I buy it
How mayn LO were not straight in this game! 😯
At least they have been called!
JT – know what you mean. 😀 He should have scored himself – ran out of steam.
unlike the Lions-Force game…
With such a small margin in this game – it could be anyone’s – yet neither team seem to have any urgency left. One penalty by the Highlanders will draw the game for them. A try will win it.
Rob,
If he is playing, just get Keegan to kick him on the ankle…
hehe… Keegan is bound to kick SOMEONE anyway,
Come Tahs… another 5 points, please
Mexted totally lost it now! It was clear the prop had his hand on the floor but Mex is calling it the flankers arm and laughing at JC! You doos, the only laughable prick is YOU! 😡
Tahs can tie the game – penalty.
And he misses! Game over.
What am I saying??? Tahs? Sorry guys.
Aren’t they ahead already?
Yay! My sweep is intact
Biggest blieght on rugby are the commentators
RD – I had a blonde moment there! 😳
I hope Keegan doesn’t kick anybody tonight – I have a good feeling though – he hasn’t started for ages and I feel like he tries too hard when he only has 10 minutes on the field. Let’s hold thumbs!
Murray has just had a bad week, hasn’t he? If it wasn’t his lack of vocabulary to describe the Super 14 final his ex-wife is scorching the screen with her body and moves. I bet you’re just kicking yourself for blowing it in both instances, aren’t ya!
Anyway, to rub it in, here’s his top ten quotes from Murray this season:
10=. “There’s lots of hooters over here Nisbo.”
10=. “He who hesitates……is lost.”
10=. “Both sides are here to play rugby.”
10=. A Sky TV producer was conducting a sound test before the last Springbok test at Carisbrook…
“Murray can you hear me?….Murray can you hear me?”
Murray: “No.”
10=. “The turf here (Newlands) never took properly and it isn’t very well rooted…in fact you could say it is rooted…..did I just say that?”
9. “I can tell you it’s a magnificent sensation when the gap opens up like that and you just burst right through.”
8. “I don’t like this new law, because your first instinct when you see a man on the ground is to go down on him.”
7. “Darryl Gibson has been quite magnificent coming inside Andrew Mehrtens, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of the same today.”
6. “There’s nothing that a tight forward likes more than a loosie right up his backside”
5. “Everybody knows that I have been pumping Martin Leslie for a couple of seasons now.”
4. “Spencer’s running across field calling out, ‘come inside me, come inside me.”
3. “You don’t like to see hookers going down on players like that.”
2. “He’s looking for some meaningful penetration into the backline.”
1. “Andrew Mehrtens loves it when Darryl Gibson comes inside of him.”
I see KSA had the Highlanders and Kette the Tahs. Good thing he wasn’t on line this morning. Nice one Rob!
Off to do a few things – chat later.
🙂
Mexted had loss the plot, or would I dare say the mic 😯
cheers ness
cheers Nessa 🙂
01.03.08 10:22:52 – Charlie
If I was close the mic would be sticking up his… 😈
Tahs go 3rd… for now
off for a while.
Enjoy the ugly Oz derby slugfest
Cheers Rob 😎
“Enjoy the ugly Oz derby slugfest”
Ya kidding… Brumbies back to their sublime best… will get even better when Rathbone’s back…
Oops wrong thread…
You guys thought Fortuin had a good game? Are you mad?
He was about par in the first half but in the second half the wheels came off. Badly.
I cringed when he didnt know whether the tighthead played on the right or the loosehead and so referred “that prop. the one that scrums on this side (indicates with foot).
It got even worse in the last 20 when it seemed his decisions were merely random.
Right at the end he awarded a penalty to the tahs for a flankers hand being on the ground at scrum time *he thought it was the prop’s hand).
Now besides the fact that he got the offence wrong he then also went and awarded a penalty when it should only have been a free kick.
I thoguht he was terrible but liked the way Fitzy excused his performance by inferring his poor game was down to him not being used to the new rules.
In games like that even one or two mistaken decisions can affect games, not to mention the confused chambles Fortuin dished up in the second half.