Fiji-born Highlanders and former Moana Pasifika winger Timoci Tavatanawai produced a man-of-the-match performance to help his side defeat the Auckland Blues 29-21 as he won three crucial turnovers when the side was down by 2 men.
The Blues threw everything at the Highlanders but couldn’t find a way through Tavatavanawai as they had 13 All Blacks who tried to create havoc for the hosts.
The Blues were quick to quiet the crowd when scrum-half Finlay Christie found the chalk from close to the ruck.
Tavatavanawai backed his great performance from their previous game against the Waratahs in terms of winning turnovers and kept the consistency against the Blues.
The Blues led the hosts 14-13 at the halftime.
In the second half, the Highlanders scored another 16 points while the Blues scored another 7 points to draw the curtains in Dunedin for another exciting game.
In other match results, the Force defeated the Brumbies 45-42 and the Hurricanes beat the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua 38-34.
The Highlanders will now head north to Auckland, where they’ll face Moana Pasifika at their new base on the North Shore.
The Blues travel to Wellington next weekend to face the Hurricanes.
