Highlanders triumph in Tonga

Cameron Millar ignited his own career and helped the Highlanders celebrate a moment of history in Tonga this afternoon.

The Highlanders beat Moana Pasifika 28-17 in shocking conditions in Nuku’alofa.

It was a big day for Tonga, which became the 11th nation to host a Super Rugby game, and for young first five Millar.

The Taieri youngster has had a relatively uncertain start at this level of rugby, and he might have felt slightly queasy when he ran on to a field utterly waterlogged after a day of heavy rain in the kingdom.

Indeed, Millar promptly sent an early kick out on the full.

The rest of his game? Close to immaculate.

He ran to the line with style and timing, and showed off an excellent range of kicking skills.

Another to shine was winger Connor Garden-Bachop, who was involved in everything and revelled in some space out wide as the Highlanders scored a couple of cracking tries and handled well despite the inclement conditions.

On the other side, Timoci Tavatavanawai produced some phenomenal defensive work as the Highlanders kept Moana scoreless in the second half.

Up front, Billy Harmon and Sean Withy delivered their usual shifts, and Jermaine Ainsley was commanding when he came off the bench.

Moana had much – certainly not all – of the crowd singing and dancing for them, but they made far too many errors and committed some silly fouls.

Still, it was a wonderful moment for Tonga, and there must be some expectation that Super Rugby will return regularly.

The Highlanders were coming off a ghastly performance that included 20 handling errors in a 7-6 win over the Force – and that was in perfect conditions at the Dunedin stadium.

No wonder, then, the sight of shocking weather in Nuka’alofa made everyone a little nervous as they anticipated a grim spectacle.

Instead, the first half was a ridiculously entertaining affair in which both teams showed a willingness to chance their arm.

There were always going to be plenty of mistakes – you would need to be something other than human to hold on to a rugby ball for 40 minutes in those conditions – but there was also plenty of good rugby.

The first few minutes were messy as there was an injury delay when Tavatavanawai ran right over Moana halfback Jonathan Taumateine, and the Highlanders got a couple of early mistakes out of their system.

But then things got interesting.

Moana produced a huge scrum then the opening try to Otago prop Abraham Pole.

That was quickly followed by an error from the home side that led to Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens getting his sixth try for the Highlanders.

Neither side could get a smooth lineout operating as the rain pelted down, but Moana were enjoying scrum time, where the Highlanders could not seem to get their mechanics correct.

Moana held a 10-5 lead with 17 minutes left in the half when everything seemed to happen all at once.

Garden-Bachop, who unquestionably had his best game in a Highlanders jersey, scored after a few phases of lovely handling.

Moana then delighted their soaked fans with a breakout from well inside their own half that included a potential knock-on but led to a William Havili try.

Just before halftime, the Highlanders produced a remarkable piece of rugby in the conditions.

Millar, who grew in confidence as the game progressed, lobbed over a cross kick, Garden-Bachop caught and chipped ahead, and the lethal Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens showed stunning handling skills to scoop and score again.

The Highlanders also showed admirable composure in a goal-line defensive stand to take a 19-17 lead into halftime.

They started the second spell with real vigour, too, and went further ahead with a couple of Millar penalties.

Moana got into serious discipline trouble – it was perhaps a surprise nobody was binned after as series of infringements – and the Highlanders stayed focused as the final quarter approached.

The home side butchered a rare attacking lineout opportunity and there was a sense the game was rather fizzling out.

That suited the Highlanders just fine. They needed this win, badly, and they sealed it when Millar landed another three.

They will return home with real confidence as they prepare to host the Crusaders next Saturday night.

hayden.meilke@odt.co.nz