An inspired performance from Highlanders winger Caleb Tangitau has powered them to a 39-19 win over Moana Pasifika.
Tanigtau crossed for a double in a crazy game that included a power outage that lost the broadcast for the final quarter.
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The winger crossed in the seventh minute after burning his defender for the opener, setting the tone for a dominant first half.
Some sloppy hands cost him a second, but it wasn’t long before the winger made up for it in the corner.
His wing partner Jona Nareki got in on the action shortly afterwards as Jack Taylor gave them a 27-0 lead at the break.
Scrumhalf Nic Shearer got his debut Super Rugby try before Niko Jones got the hosts on the board just after half-time.
However, life didn’t get much easier for Moana, down to 13 after back-to-back yellow cards.
William Havili and Glen Vaihu both found themselves drawing the ire of the referee, sent off within a five minute span.
Flanker Veveni Lusaka took instant advantage as the flanker eased his way over the line.
Incredibly, the hosts struck down to 13 as Millennium Sanerivi finished off a great move that started with quick hands from Patrick Pellegrini.
Allan Craig shortly crossed to reduce the margin, but this is where the game descended into chaos.
Power went out on the broadcast at the 60 minute mark, with the remainder of the game seen at the ground or on Moana Pasifika’s Instagram.
Play resumed shortly afterwards with one of the light towers off as the hosts tried to will their way back into the contest with little success.
Debutant Paula Latu added plenty off the bench as the Tongan international won several penalties.
But the Highlanders held their calm and their nerve for a crucial win, leaping into the top six briefly.
