Fijian born and Highlanders wing Patrick Osborne scored a try last night to help his side beat the Force 32-20 to claim top spot of the New Zealand Conference.
The Highlanders put on a great show for their fans last night but the Western Force stunned the home side early with two quick tries to lead 14‑0 after 10 minutes.
The Highlanders rallied back to level the scores 14‑14 before the break through Patrick Osborne and Dan Pryor.
All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith created the spark for his side with a clever dummy and darted down the blindside providing Matt Faddes with his try early into the second spell.
Osborne was denied a double not long after when replays showed his knee was touching the side line before he scored in the corner.
Highlanders replacement back Jason Emery crossed over the white chalk late in the game after a great solo run by Osborne, beating a couple of defenders before offloading the ball to his teammate.
Meanwhile, Ryan Crotty scored a hat‑trick as the Crusaders came out on top of a ten‑try thriller against the Lions with a 43‑37 win at Ellis Park this morning.
Today the Blues face the Jaguares at 6.35pm while the Brumbies host the Chiefs at 8.40pm.
