Thesoleobjective:winforSmith

• Published date: 26 May 2023
• Publication title: Sports Tab

That is really the only motivation the Highlanders need tonight

There is, as everyone knows, plenty riding on the game against the Reds at Forsyth Barr Stadium as the Highlanders need to win to stay in the playoff hunt and rescue what has generally been a disappointing season.

The team chases competition points, and players get a penultimate chance to impress with an eye on selection for next year.

Really, though, this is all about Aaron Smith and the duty the Highlanders have to send their greatest stalwart out — he still has at least one game left for the club, and potentially more if unlikely playoffs qualification becomes reality, but this is farewell to Dunedin — with a rousing victory over the Australians.

Athletes rarely get to write their own scripts. There are too many uncertainties in sport, and too many moving parts when you have 30 rugby players on a large field.

If there are such things as rugby gods, however, they will see fit to give the little man in the blue No9 jersey plenty of opportunities to pass, snipe and dart tonight, and to give his team the five points it really needs ahead of the difficult trip to Eden Park to play the Blues next Friday.

Highlanders captain Billy Harmon has leaned heavily on Smith for support this year and intends to do what he can to give his halfback a fond farewell.

‘‘Coming down here, I hadn’t had much to do with Nuggie,’’ Harmon said.

‘‘It’s always pretty exciting to get around one of the world’s best players, and see how they operate, and what goes on behind closed doors.

‘‘It’s no accident he’s become one of the top players ever. His energy, the work he does outside of the game — it’s pretty unmatched.

‘‘It’s been exciting to share the field with him for a few years. He’s been a massive part of this team, and it will be sad to lose him.

‘‘Hopefully, we can have a good crack for him. The boys will be giving it everything.’’

It is almost certainly lose-and-go-home time for the Highlanders.

They are three points outside the top eight, and the final two playoff spots are going to be a dogfight between the Reds (23 points), Force (22), Highlanders (19), Fijian Drua (17) and Rebels (16).

History very clearly favours the home side — the Highlanders have won five straight against the Reds with an average margin of 12 points — but you might recall the Queenslanders recently snapped a 19-game losing streak in New Zealand by...