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Dunedin - Two second half David Smith tries helped the Western Force stun the Highlanders 21-14 on Friday, ruining the home side's Carisbrook farewell and dealing a massive blow to their Super Rugby playoff hopes.
Wing Smith scored his second with a blistering run from inside his own half with seven minutes remaining to give his side the lead for the first time in the match as they scored 18 unanswered second half points to claim victory.
Stand-in flyhalf James Stannard was again outstanding for a Perth-based outfit, whose hopes of postseason play long since disappeared, kicking 11 points but more importantly kept the Force's backline moving all evening.
"It was nice to come out here and not play like schoolboys," Force skipper Nathan Sharpe said.
"We achieved what we wanted to tonight, that was really gutsy team effort and I'm really happy with the boys."
Playing in the lime green strip they will wear at their new Dunedin stadium next year, the Highlanders had been hoping to bid farewell to their famous old ground with a bonus point victory to stay in the playoff hunt.
Instead, after their loss to the Lions last week, they leave the "House of Pain" on the back of two upset defeats with their chance of a wild card spot all but gone.
"It was just a frustrating half. Just fell to pieces really, we couldn't get out of our half and they counter-attacked well," Highlanders captain Jamie Mackintosh said.
"It was a big a week for us with the new strip and the last match at Carisbrook and it's a very disappointing end."
Ben Smith's 24th minute try and three penalties from the boot of Lima Sopoaga looked to have them on their way to victory at least with a 14-3 half-time lead.
After weathering some early pressure shortly after the break, however, the Force hit back.
An unrelenting spell of attacks saw openside flank David Pocock almost breach the home defence in the 65th minute and when the ball was recycled, New Zealander Smith scythed through to cross the line.
Stannard, who was sin-binned in the first half, converted and kicked his second penalty six minutes later to narrow the deficit to one point but the best move of the night was two minutes away.
Taking the ball five metres inside his own half after a Highlander kick over the top, Smith sprinted more than half the length of the pitch, beating three tacklers and touching down with a swallow dive in the corner.
Stannard missed the conversion but kicked his third penalty to secure victory soon after Smith had been denied a hat-trick when a pass drifted forward.
The Force picked up four points for their victory, but remained third and 12th in the Australian Conference and Overall standings respectively.
The Highlanders picked up a single point for losing by seven or fewer, but saw their playoff hopes diminish as they stayed third in the New Zealand Conference and eighth overall.
In next weekend's Round 17 action, the Highlanders travel to Sydney to face the Waratahs, while the Force are at home in Perth against the Reds.
Teams:
Highlanders:
15 Ben Smith, 14 Kade Poki, 13 Kendrick Lynn, 12 Shaun Treeby, 11 Siale Piutau, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Nasi Manu, 7 John Hardie, 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Josh Bekhuis, 4 Jarrad Hoeata, 3 Chris King, 2 Mo Schwalger, 1 Jamie Mackintosh (captain)
Substitutes: 16 Jason Rutledge, 17 Bronson Murray, 18 Tom Donnelly, 19 Nick Crosswell, 20 Aaron Smith, 21 Robbie Robinson, 22 Alando Soakai
Western Force:
15 Cameron Shepherd, 14 Alfie Mafi, 13 Patrick Dellit, 12 Rory Sidey, 11 David Smith, 10 James Stannard, 9 Mark Swanepoel, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Matt Hodgson, 5 Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4 Sam Wykes, 3 Tim Fairbrother, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Kieran Longbottom
Substitutes: 16 Ben Whittaker, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Tom Hockings, 19 Richard Brown, 20 Chris Cottee, 21 Mitch Inman, 22 Nick Cummins
Wing Smith scored his second with a blistering run from inside his own half with seven minutes remaining to give his side the lead for the first time in the match as they scored 18 unanswered second half points to claim victory.
Stand-in flyhalf James Stannard was again outstanding for a Perth-based outfit, whose hopes of postseason play long since disappeared, kicking 11 points but more importantly kept the Force's backline moving all evening.
"It was nice to come out here and not play like schoolboys," Force skipper Nathan Sharpe said.
"We achieved what we wanted to tonight, that was really gutsy team effort and I'm really happy with the boys."
Playing in the lime green strip they will wear at their new Dunedin stadium next year, the Highlanders had been hoping to bid farewell to their famous old ground with a bonus point victory to stay in the playoff hunt.
Instead, after their loss to the Lions last week, they leave the "House of Pain" on the back of two upset defeats with their chance of a wild card spot all but gone.
"It was just a frustrating half. Just fell to pieces really, we couldn't get out of our half and they counter-attacked well," Highlanders captain Jamie Mackintosh said.
"It was a big a week for us with the new strip and the last match at Carisbrook and it's a very disappointing end."
Ben Smith's 24th minute try and three penalties from the boot of Lima Sopoaga looked to have them on their way to victory at least with a 14-3 half-time lead.
After weathering some early pressure shortly after the break, however, the Force hit back.
An unrelenting spell of attacks saw openside flank David Pocock almost breach the home defence in the 65th minute and when the ball was recycled, New Zealander Smith scythed through to cross the line.
Stannard, who was sin-binned in the first half, converted and kicked his second penalty six minutes later to narrow the deficit to one point but the best move of the night was two minutes away.
Taking the ball five metres inside his own half after a Highlander kick over the top, Smith sprinted more than half the length of the pitch, beating three tacklers and touching down with a swallow dive in the corner.
Stannard missed the conversion but kicked his third penalty to secure victory soon after Smith had been denied a hat-trick when a pass drifted forward.
The Force picked up four points for their victory, but remained third and 12th in the Australian Conference and Overall standings respectively.
The Highlanders picked up a single point for losing by seven or fewer, but saw their playoff hopes diminish as they stayed third in the New Zealand Conference and eighth overall.
In next weekend's Round 17 action, the Highlanders travel to Sydney to face the Waratahs, while the Force are at home in Perth against the Reds.
Teams:
Highlanders:
15 Ben Smith, 14 Kade Poki, 13 Kendrick Lynn, 12 Shaun Treeby, 11 Siale Piutau, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Nasi Manu, 7 John Hardie, 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Josh Bekhuis, 4 Jarrad Hoeata, 3 Chris King, 2 Mo Schwalger, 1 Jamie Mackintosh (captain)
Substitutes: 16 Jason Rutledge, 17 Bronson Murray, 18 Tom Donnelly, 19 Nick Crosswell, 20 Aaron Smith, 21 Robbie Robinson, 22 Alando Soakai
Western Force:
15 Cameron Shepherd, 14 Alfie Mafi, 13 Patrick Dellit, 12 Rory Sidey, 11 David Smith, 10 James Stannard, 9 Mark Swanepoel, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Matt Hodgson, 5 Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4 Sam Wykes, 3 Tim Fairbrother, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Kieran Longbottom
Substitutes: 16 Ben Whittaker, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Tom Hockings, 19 Richard Brown, 20 Chris Cottee, 21 Mitch Inman, 22 Nick Cummins
