Prop Ethan De Groot and wing Jona Nareki have provided try doubles to help the Highlanders keep their Super Rugby Trans-Tasman hopes alive with a 59-23 victory over NSW Waratahs in Dunedin.
Ahead by only 10 points after a first-half slugfest, the southerners kept their opponents scoreless after the break, but piled on 26 unanswered points to secure a valuable bonus point in the scramble for finals berths.
Over the opening 40 minutes, neither team could maintain enough dominance to take control of the contest, with first one, then the other seizing a short-lived lead.
Highlanders centre Michael Collins opened the scoring with a converted try in the third minute, before the Waratahs swept ahead with a penalty and converted try to Jack Maddocks.
Winger Sio Tomkinson put the hosts back in front, but Mark Nawaqanitawase responded for NSW, then De Groot crossed for the Highlanders.
Another Will Harrison penalty edged the Waratahs ahead once more, but Highlanders captain Ash Dixon capitalised on a perfectly executed lineout maul to give his side a 26-20 advantage.
Harrison narrowed the deficit with another penalty, but as the halftime siren sounded, Nareki sprinted down the touchline and Mitch Hunt’s conversion from wide out put the home team 33-23 up at the break.
Fifty-six points in 40 minutes represented either outstanding attack or woeful defence, and the first team to make their tackles were likely to come out on top.
De Groot achieved his double soon after the restart, as the Highlanders finally stamped their authority on the occasion with a much-needed bonus-point try.
Japanese international Kazuki Himeno was driven over by his forwards for his team's seventh try, while Nareki bounced back from a painful late tackle to score his second and bring up 50 points.
With the NSW defence in tatters, Teariki Ben-Nicholas charged over from a close-range scrum to complete the scoring.
With one week remaining, the result puts the Highlanders one point behind the table-topping Blues and level with the Crusaders with a points-differential countback advantage.
The Hurricanes can still leapfrog them all with a bonus-point victory over the Brumbies later on Saturday.
Highlanders 59 (Collins, Ben-Nicholas, Himeno, Tomkinson, De Groot 2, Dixon, Nareki 2 tries; Hunt 7 conversions) Waratahs 23 (Maddocks, Nawaqanitawase tries; Harrison 2 conversions, 3 penalty goals)
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