A heartbreaking penalty kick by Marty Banks right on full time has seen the Chiefs fall agonisingly close 20-17 to a gritty Highlanders side at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton.

In what was a physical encounter, the Chiefs held on to a narrow advantage going into the tense final minutes before a pair of late penalties by the Highlanders replacement five-eighth saw the visitors hand the Chiefs their first defeat of the 2015 season.


Chiefs player Hosea Gear charging down the field. Photos by Tracy Hardy.



There had only been three minutes gone in the contest when Chiefs first five Aaron Cruden slotted the first points after the Highlandefs conceded the penalty at scrum time.

The home side looked to settle into their work rather nicely as they breached the

Highlanders defensive line on a couple of occasions but went short on scoring.

Although the Highlanders were able to survive the Chiefs offensive onslaught and earned a penalty when Chiefs captain Liam Messam was judged to have deliberately knocked the ball down with the men from the Deep South on attack.

First five-eighth Lima Sopoaga was able to step up and nail the penalty attempt to level the scores after 19 minutes.

With errors creeping into the play of both outfits, it was the Highlanders who managed to wrestle the lead away when an offside call against the Chiefs allowed

Sopoaga another shot at which he gladly took and converted.

The Chiefs appeared to get themselves into prime attacking position but could not find the finishing touches to reward their efforts.

However, the Highlanders managed to switch defence into attack when second five Shaun Treeby broke out metres from his own try line.

Hot on attack the visitors continued to put together the phases as they edged closer towards the Chiefs try line.

From there they spread the ball wide to winger Patrick Osborne as the former Chief showed his skill, wrong-footing the drifting defence and slicing back in for the first try of the match.

The Highlanders were boosted heading into the half time break when Sopoaga kicked his third penalty to give his side a 14-3 lead.

As the second 40 minutes kicked off the Chiefs remained in the contest but looked to claw their way back on the scoreboard and went within inches of scoring.

Although as the Chiefs continued to smash the Highlanders try line another penalty saw referee Nick Briant dig into his pocket giving lock Joe Wheeler a 10 minute rest.

It wasn't long as the Chiefs took advantage of the extra man, muscling up and overpowering the Highlanders scrum to earn a penalty try that narrowed the margin to 14-10.

Aiming to show their dominance at scrum time the Chiefs worked their back down deep into the opposition 22 before the forward pack collectively lit up the Highlanders counterparts before Briant had had enough and awarded a second penalty try to regain the lead.

A couple of penalty misses by Cruden and replacement centre Andrew Horrell, who was filling after the late withdrawal of Charlie Ngatai to an ankle injury, kept the Highlanders within touch.

It only seemed to fire the Highlanders up in the final few minutes as they southerners earned a penalty which allowed replacement Marty Banks to a chance to draw even with the hosts as winger James Lowe was sent to the sin bin for an alleged dangerous tackle on Malakai Fekitoa.

As time ran off the clock both teams tried to get themselves into field position but it was the Highlanders who showed their composure to work their way into the Chiefs half.

From there a penalty against the Chiefs saw the Waikato Stadium crowd rise in disbelief, and it gave Banks a prime chance to snatch the game right at the death for a gutsy win.

Afterwards, a gutted Sam Cane says they had felt they had let themselves down as a group but highlighted that they would look improvements and be more determined to get back out on the pitch and rectify the errors.

"It's a tough comp, but the good thing is you get to play pretty much week in week out," he says lookng towards the tour to South Africa.

"We've got a bloody strong squad, with lots of character and lots of depth, so we can't dwell on [the loss] for too long we'll bounce back tomorrow because we know on that plane on Sunday.

"Looking forward to a couple of good weeks away where we can bond as a group and test ourselves against some South Africa's best."

Next up for the Chiefs is a tough two week tour of South Africa where their first stop takes them to Cape Town where they will take on the Stormers at DHL Newlands.

The match will be televised on Sky Sport screening from 2am next Sunday morning (NZ Time).
















Score Summary.

Chiefs: 17 (Penalty try 2; Cruden pen, 2 con)

Highlanders: 20 (Osborne try; Sopoaga 3 pen, Banks 2 pen)

As it Happened.

Minute. Match Detail. Score.

4. Cruden pen. 3-0

19. Sopoaga pen. 3-3

27. Sopoaga pen. 3-6

34. Osborne try. 3-11

40. Sopoaga pen. 3-14

Half time

47. Penalty try. 8-14

48. Cruden con. 10-14

56. Penalty try. 15-14

57. Cruden con. 17-14

76. Banks pen. 17-17

80. Banks pen. 17-20

Full time.