Highlanders coaches Tony Brown and Clarke Dermody could only laugh after some unlikely attacking brilliance from substitute hooker Rhys Marshall on Friday night.
With victory over the Force already assured in the second half, the Highlanders pulled out the party tricks in front of Dunedin’s rowdy students under the roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
In a well executed planned move, Marshall threw short to flanker Hugh Renton who immediately transferred back to the hooker who started bolting down the left-hand touchline.
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Then, the plot twist, as the front-rower put his left boot to ball as the Force defenders started closing fast.
It was an inspired decision, with Marshall’s well weighted kick bouncing into Folau Fakatava’s clutches for the halfback to score a crowd – and coach – pleasing try.
“What about the left foot chip, Rhys Marshall, how good is that?” Karl Te Nana said in commentary for Sky Sport.
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“He reckons there: ‘I’ve called it all day long’!”
All Blacks great Justin Marshall then joined Brown and Dermody in having a chuckle.
“Somehow I don’t think it was supposed to happen like that,” Marshall said.
“Not exactly what they practiced on the training field, a left foot chip from the hooker, streaking down the sideline.”
The 61-10 rout was a major blow to the 10th-placed Force’s hopes of sneaking into the top-eight finals.
The Highlanders, meanwhile, have now won three straight games and firmed up their grasp on eighth spot on the ladder.
The outclassed Force played with only 13 men late in the contest after Feleti Kaitu’u and Richard Kahui were handed yellow and red cards respectively.
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Marshall disagreed with both decisions from the officials.
“What are you supposed to do as a tackler?” Marshall asked after Kahui’s nasty head on head clash with Mitch Hunt.
“I just don’t see that as being foul play, I’m sorry. There are things in the game called accidental collisions.”
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The 2-9 Force are now eight points off the playoff pace.
“We were very much chasing the game from the start,” Force captain Kyle Godwin said.
“Physicality, the breakdown and contact area we were very poor tonight. We were our own worst enemies there.
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“Full credit to the Highlanders, that was a dominant display. Back to the drawing board for us.”
The game finished on a humorous note as Highlanders prop Daniel Lienert-Brown attempted a sideline conversion in his 100th game for the club.
It was a decent effort but did not trouble the scorers.