[ad_1]
PHIL WALTER / GETTY IMAGES
Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson is blamed after his team slaughtered their chance to finish as a second seed.
Aaron Mauger can thank former Cry teammate Daryl Gibson for a few bonus nights in his own bed this week.
He can do it in person on Saturday evening. Because rather than packing his bag and traveling to South Africa to face the Lions, Highlanders coach Mauger has to thank Gibson for his quarterfinal match against his Waratahs at Allianz Stadium.
"I think what you saw tonight was a team that was not focused on the work to be done and was already ahead of next week.
DIANNE MANSON / GETTY IMAGES
Highlander coach Aaron Mauger and his team will not travel to Sydney until Wednesday or Thursday
"As a coach, it's disappointing because it's my responsibility. to make sure we are focused on the work to be done. "
READ MORE
* Naholo good to go
* Highlanders sink Rebels
* Canes sorry for angry tweet
* Heat Gibson's lyrics after his waratahs slaughtered their chance to finish second on the Super Rugby ladder, fumbling and leading to a 40-31 defeat against the Brumbies at home
The defeat, followed by the Lions' victory against the Bulls a few hours later, locked in a quarter-final against the Highlanders, rather than the Jaguars. He also decreased their chances of hosting a semifinal at home.
Mauger, his assistants, and the players did not say thoroughly (at least in public) that they preferred a quarter-final against the Waratahs, but they were deceiving no one.
MARK EVANS / GETTY IMAGES
L & N Highlanders winger Tevita Nabura served a six-game suspension and did not play for the team after he was red carded against the Waratahs in May.
Dumb and Dumber did not want an 11,000-kilometer trip to Johannesburg, or a nearly 10,000-kilometer mission to Buenos Aires for a short flight across the ditch, even though they had watched the Waratahs fights The Highlanders in May on a rehearsal.
The Highlanders, who finished the regular season 10-6 after defeating the Rebels 43-37 on Saturday night in Dunedin, will stay home for the first half of the season. the week to start preparing for the sudden death match.
"I'm really excited, I can not wait to go, to be honest," said Mauger, in anticipation of his first playoff game at the top of the Highlanders.
DIANNE MANSON / GETTY IMAGES
Back midfielder and co-captain of the Ben Smith Highlanders was rested last weekend.
"We have a lot of players who will play next week, so they will be fresh, full of energy and ready to go … only a few snags and I hope everyone will be available to jump plane. "
One of those annoyances is the first Lima Sopoaga, who suffered a thighful bite against the rebels. However, Mauger said that he "should be fine".
On the other hand, the Waratahs will still be without the captain and fetcher Michael Hooper, who stretched his hamstrings playing for the Wallabies against Ireland last month.
Highland winger Waisake Naholo does not need to sit on a second game because he's only played # 39, only one test against France last month.
But they will still have a lot of firepower at their disposal, including back Israel Folau and winger monster Taqele Naiyaravoro, who leads the competition for most of the (15) tries scored.
Both scored goals when the Waratahs stomped the Highlanders less than two months ago in Sydney, a result that broke a series of 40-game defeats for Australian teams against their kiwi opponents.
Highlanders fans should not need to remember that they were completely overwhelmed from the first whistle, and played a big part of the match with 14 men, after the wing Tevita Nabura received a red card for beating Cameron Clark.
The 29-point loss was the worst of the season among the Highlanders, and one of six games where they lost at least 34 points.
Bolstering their defense is a priority before the playoffs, as is reducing the rate of error with the ball in hand.
"We were probably not patient enough at times and we probably gave the Rebels 15 or 20 of their points, and they were good enough to take them," said Mauger.
