What do you think about Japan's international SH Tanaka Humiaki (Highlanders)?
Fumiaki Tanaka played well when he came on (as he did the previous week), but he does have a few limitations (due to his lack of size). He is fine behind a dominant forward pack, but if his pack doesn't give him good ball he can really struggle (much like Aaron Smith). He certainly suits the Highlanders current (fast-paced) style of play, and has been good value so far this season.
Back to the game itself. I'm very happy with the result, but I'm worried at the way we seem to completely stop playing once we get the lead and allow other sides to come back into the game. Even if we have a 20 point lead with 20 minutes to go we are far from safe.....
I was generally happy with the contribution of our front-row. Hames again impressed with his work-rate, and Coltman had a much better game than last week. Robinson and King made a phenomenal amount of tackles once the came on - they both missed a few, but all the Highlanders players seemed to be missing tackles in that last 15 minutes. I felt Brad Thorn made a big impact - I loved in massive linebreak. Wheeler worked hard again, while Hoeata got his first - but almost certainly not his last - yellow card of the season (though to be fair it was really a team yellow for persistent infringements). Dixon was ok at 6, but I would like to see Evans back starting, Manu had a strong game at 8, while Christie showed again what a tackling machine he is (
scrum.com have him credited with 29 tackles!). Ioane played well once he came on too - he was mainly restricted to a defensive role, but did his job very well.
I thought Aaron Smith had another good game (barring a 3 minute period where he missed 3 tackles!). His box-kicking was accurate, and I really liked how he was putting pressure on TJ Perenara at times. Sopoaga was pretty good overall, but I still think he is a liability on defense - Parker looked far more comfortable on defense when he was on (despite the Highlanders being under a huge amount of pressure). I was very happy with the way Sopoaga continued to nail his kicks at goal though! Burleigh had some nice touches, and made some intelligent kicks. He still can't tackle to save himself though, and I think he is a liability defensively at this level (Treeby needs to start next week IMO). Fekitoa continues to build on his strong start to the season - I could feel that hit on Conrad Smith from Brisbane! Osbourne adds another dimension to the Highlanders attack with his powerful running and offloading ability, while Buckman had another solid game on the wing. Ben Smith had by far his best game of the season, and wad man of the match for me. His break to setup Burleigh try was brilliant, he dominated in the air, and I was really impressed with his defense (mainly up in the line) this week. I think the Highlanders have to work out how they can get him more involved in contesting the ball in the air, as he almost invariably wins these contests. One option would be to have his standing on the blindside wing position from lineouts, allowing him to run on to Aaron Smith's box-kicks.