WELLINGTON: The Otago Highlanders outsmarted the Waikato Chiefs to move into second place in the New Zealand conference with a crushing 36-9 victory in their Super 15 clash in Invercargill on Saturday.
On a foggy and damp night, the Highlanders subjected the Chiefs to a barrage of high kicks, forcing handling errors and gaining a territorial advantage that delivered a four-try bonus point win.
They led 11-3 at half-time and rammed home the advantage in the second spell as the Chiefs failed to find a way to counter the intense pressure.
The 10th win from 14 games lifted the Highlanders to within nine points of the Wellington Hurricanes and offers a chance to overtake the competition leaders who were beaten by the Canterbury Crusaders 35-18 on Friday.
The Highlanders led 11-3 at half-time with a try to Patrick Osborne before pulling away with the game in the second spell with further tries to Waisake Naholo, Richard Buckman and Ben Smith.
Naholo's brilliant solo effort just after the break built the buffer the Highlanders had been looking for after the Chiefs mounted a concerted effort in the closing stages of the first spell to narrow the gap.
The giant winger took the ball as first receiver from a lineout on the half-way line and ploughed through a wilting defence on a 55-metre run to the line.
The Highlanders had opened with two penalties by Lima Sopoaga to one by Damian McKenzie for the Chiefs, before Osborne crossed for his try after a long build-up that began when the Highlanders turned down a shot at goal and went for a lineout drive.
The forwards were held up forcing scrum-half Aaron Smith to bring the backs into play, with the ball sent from side to side across the ground until the Chiefs' defence cracked.
The Chiefs were denied a chance to close the gap at the end of the half when they turned penalties into lineout drives three times only to fall short of turning them into points.
Fullback Damian McKenzie went closest when he dived on the ball over the tryline following a chip kick by his fly-half brother Marty McKenzie.
But after watching several replays the television match official ruled that Damian McKenzie did not have sufficient control of the ball.
Three minutes into the second half Naholo's try converted by Sopoaga lifted the Highlanders to an 18-3 lead and their confidence grew.
McKenzie landed two further penalties for the Chiefs to close the gap to 18-9, before Sopoaga added two more penalties and converted the tries by Buckman and Smith to finish with a personal match tally of 16 points.
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