The Chiefs survived a fierce Highlanders fightback to grind out a 26–23 victory under the roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium, extending their winning streak against the southerners to eight matches and making it two away wins from two to open the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season.
Key moments
2 mins – TRY HIGHLANDERS: Jona Nareki marks his 50th Highlanders cap in style. Jonah Lowe and Timoci Tavatavanawai make hard yards through the middle before Folau Fakatava produces a wonderful face pass to the left that sends Lucas Casey into a hole on the 22. Casey offloads inside to Caleb Tangitau popping up on the opposite wing, who then feeds Nareki for the finish in the corner. Cameron Millar converts from the left. (Highlanders 7–0 Chiefs)
7 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Samisoni Taukei’aho responds from the back of a rolling maul. Josh Lord takes the lineout without a lift, and the Chiefs set a powerful drive that draws in both Leroy Carter and Quinn Tupaea for added weight. Taukei’aho peels off the back and crashes over from close range. Josh Jacomb converts from the left. (Highlanders 7–7 Chiefs)
13 mins – HIA CHIEFS: Jahrome Brown departs for a head injury assessment and does not return. Simon Parker enters the contest early, with Kaylum Boshier shifting to openside flanker. (Highlanders 7–7 Chiefs)
19 mins – CLOSE CALL CHIEFS: Kyren Taumoefolau produces a fantastic burst upfield, weaving back infield on halfway, but cannot link with support. Jacomb then looks for a 50/22 but Nareki gets back to mark it. The pace of the game is breathless. (Highlanders 7–7 Chiefs)
32 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Leroy Carter scores a sensational coast-to-coast try. A Cameron Millar cross-field kick flies just past the fingertips of Sean Withy in the in-goal, resulting in a goal-line dropout. Quinn Tupaea takes the dropout quickly, regathers and races upfield before lobbing a pass infield for Carter, who scorches 50 metres to the line. Jacomb converts. (Highlanders 7–14 Chiefs)
36 mins – CLOSE CALL HIGHLANDERS: Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens and Tangitau combine brilliantly down the right, but Te Kamaka Howden drops Jack Taylor’s pass just as the line beckoned on the 22. A chance missed. (Highlanders 7–14 Chiefs)
Half-time: Highlanders 7–14 Chiefs. The Chiefs lead after a hectic first half played at a hundred miles an hour. Carter’s opportunistic try from a quick dropout is the decisive moment, though replays suggest the legality of Tupaea’s restart was inconclusive. The midfield battle between Tavatavanawai and Tupaea has been ferocious.
42 mins – PENALTY HIGHLANDERS: Cameron Millar slots a penalty from right of the posts after Veveni Lasaqa, on as a half-time replacement for Casey, wins a holding-on penalty with his first involvement. (Highlanders 10–14 Chiefs)
45 mins – PENALTY HIGHLANDERS: Millar adds another three from the left after Daniel Rona is penalised for going off his feet hunting a turnover. The margin is down to a single point. (Highlanders 13–14 Chiefs)
51 mins – YELLOW CARD HIGHLANDERS: A huge turning point. Fakatava spills at the breakdown and Josh Lord gathers before producing an incredible 70-metre burst downfield. He finds Tupou Vaa’i in support on the inside, who is dragged down just short of the line by Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens. Nareki contests illegally at the resulting breakdown and is sent to the sin bin for a professional foul. (Highlanders 13–14 Chiefs)
56 mins – HELD UP CHIEFS: Taukei’aho peels off the back of the lineout drive and crashes towards the line, but Adam Lennox gets underneath him superbly to hold the hooker up. Desperate Highlanders defence. (Highlanders 13–14 Chiefs)
60 mins – TMO REVIEW CHIEFS: Simon Parker is initially awarded a try after pouncing on a loose ball from Taumoefolau’s chip kick, but the TMO overturns the decision after Parker fails to ground the ball cleanly. The Highlanders survive again. (Highlanders 13–14 Chiefs)
61 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Samisoni Taukei’aho pounces for his double the moment Nareki returns from the bin. A Highlanders lineout throw from Oliver Haig is not controlled at the back, and Taukei’aho swoops on the loose ball to crash over from five metres. Jacomb converts from the right. (Highlanders 13–21 Chiefs)
68 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Kaylum Boshier extends the lead. A Chiefs penalty leads to a lineout five metres out, and after the drive is initially held, Boshier picks from the base and stays low to burrow over. Jacomb misses the conversion from the right. (Highlanders 13–26 Chiefs)
75 mins – TRY HIGHLANDERS: Caleb Tangitau produces a moment of individual brilliance. The winger spies a gap from 45 metres out, splits two defenders clean and backs his gas to sprint away untouched. Reesjan Pasitoa cannot convert from wide on the left. (Highlanders 18–26 Chiefs)
80+1 mins – TRY HIGHLANDERS: Veveni Lasaqa secures a losing bonus point with the last play. The Highlanders drag the Chiefs in on the left before swinging the ball wide right, and Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens sends Lasaqa in on the wing as time expires. Pasitoa misses the conversion from wide on the left. (Highlanders 23–26 Chiefs)
80 mins – YELLOW CARD CHIEFS: Reuben O’Neill is sent to the sin bin for a neck roll on Withy, giving the Highlanders one final chance. (Highlanders 18–26 Chiefs)
Full-time: Highlanders 23–26 Chiefs
New Zealand had been crying out for a Kiwi derby worthy of the name, and the Highlanders and Chiefs delivered in front of a vocal crowd of 15,476 in a contest far superior to the opening round’s fare.
Before kick-off, the stadium fell silent for a moving tribute to the tragic passing of Highlanders and former Chiefs prop Angus Ta’avao’s son, Leo. The emotion carried onto the field from the first whistle, with the Highlanders tearing into the contest at a blistering pace. It took just two minutes for Nareki to cross on his 50th appearance, the culmination of sharp handling down the left that began with Fakatava’s superb face pass and was kept alive by Casey and Tangitau’s link play.
The Chiefs’ maul answered within five minutes. Lord took the throw without a lift, the drive rumbled forward with Carter and Tupaea lending their weight, and Taukei’aho crashed over from the back—a statement of the visitors’ set-piece intent that would define their second-half approach.
What followed was a breathless arm wrestle dominated by tactical kicking and a ferocious midfield collision between Tavatavanawai and Tupaea, with both All Blacks throwing themselves at the defensive line repeatedly in some shuddering exchanges. Neither flyhalf—Millar nor Jacomb, future Highlanders teammates from 2027—dominated the contest, with both guilty of some aimless kicks, though the real danger came from the outside backs on either side. Tangitau, Nanai-Seturo, Taumoefolau and Carter all made inroads whenever they touched the ball.
The game swung on two big Chiefs breakouts while under pressure—one in each half. The first, in the 32nd minute, was tinged with controversy. After Millar’s cross-field kick flew just past Withy’s fingertips in the in-goal and went dead, Tupaea took the resulting dropout at pace, regathered and burst upfield before finding Carter with an offload. The All Black winger hit the afterburners and won the race to the line from 50 metres, outrunning a brave chase from Mitch Dunshea. Replays suggested the legality of Tupaea’s dropout was inconclusive—the midfielder appeared to simply drop the ball directly onto his right boot—but as with Vaa’i’s contentious try against the Blues in round one, the five-pointer stood.
Millar’s boot hauled the Highlanders back to within a point early in the second half, converting two penalties after Lasaqa and Tavatavanawai won turnovers at the breakdown. At 13–14, the momentum was firmly with the hosts.
Then came the second decisive breakout. Fakatava spilled at the base and Lord swooped, galloping 70 metres downfield before offloading to Vaa’i, who was hauled down just short. Nareki’s cynical infringement at the breakdown earned a yellow card, and the Highlanders braced for the onslaught.
What followed was a remarkable 10-minute passage of scramble defence. The Highlanders held Taukei’aho up over the line, benefited from Parker’s failure to ground Taumoefolau’s grubber kick cleanly, and repelled wave after wave of Chiefs attack without conceding a single point during the entire sin-bin period.
The cruelty was in the timing. The moment Nareki returned from the bin, a Highlanders lineout misfire landed straight in Taukei’aho’s grasp, and the hooker needed no second invitation to crash over for his double. Jacomb’s conversion pushed the lead to eight, and Boshier’s close-range try five minutes later—the product of patient Chiefs pressure after further Highlanders indiscipline—appeared to put the result beyond doubt at 13–26.
The Highlanders had other ideas. Tangitau’s breathtaking solo try in the 75th minute—splitting two defenders from 45 metres and backing his pace to sprint clear—injected hope, and when O’Neill was binned for a neck roll on Withy in the dying seconds, Lasaqa was able to finish on the wing with the final play to secure a losing bonus point.
Two missed conversions from Pasitoa, however, meant the Highlanders fell three points short of what would have been a remarkable comeback. The emotion was raw at the final whistle—a performance that deserved more, but against a Chiefs side that keeps finding ways to win when it matters.
Jono Gibbes’ side have now won their opening two fixtures in consecutive seasons for the fourth time, and with another title tilt firmly in mind after three consecutive grand final defeats under Clayton McMillan, they continue to look every inch contenders in 2026. Vaa’i was a menace on both sides of the ball, Lord’s stunning breakout was the catalyst for the decisive period, and Tupaea’s quick thinking once again proved the difference.
For Jamie Joseph’s Highlanders, back-to-back wins to open the season eluded them for the first time since Super Rugby Trans-Tasman in 2021, but this was a display to build on. Tangitau is developing into one of the most exciting young backs in New Zealand rugby, and the grit shown during that sin-bin period under the most intense pressure will serve them well in the weeks ahead.
What’s next
The Chiefs host the Crusaders at FMG Stadium Waikato next Saturday in a heavyweight clash between the two most successful franchises in Super Rugby history. The Highlanders travel to Perth to face the Western Force, seeking to bounce back from this narrow defeat.
Teams
Highlanders: 15 Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, 14 Caleb Tangitau, 13 Jonah Lowe, 12 Timoci Tavatavanawai (c), 11 Jona Nareki, 10 Cameron Millar, 9 Folau Fakatava, 8 Lucas Casey, 7 Sean Withy, 6 Te Kamaka Howden, 5 Mitch Dunshea, 4 Oliver Haig, 3 Rohan Wingham, 2 Jack Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot.
Replacements: 16 Henry Bell, 17 Josh Bartlett, 18 Sosefo Kautai, 19 Will Stodart, 20 Veveni Lasaqa, 21 Adam Lennox, 22 Reesjan Pasitoa, 23 Tanielu Tele’a.
Chiefs: 15 Etene Nanai-Seturo, 14 Kyren Taumoefolau, 13 Daniel Rona, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 11 Leroy Carter, 10 Josh Jacomb, 9 Xavier Roe, 8 Luke Jacobson (c), 7 Jahrome Brown, 6 Kaylum Boshier, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Josh Lord, 3 George Dyer, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Jared Proffit.
Replacements: 16 Tyrone Thompson, 17 Benet Kumeroa, 18 Reuben O’Neill, 19 Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 20 Simon Parker, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Tepaea Cook-Savage, 23 Emoni Narawa.
Match details
Chiefs 26 (Tries: Samisoni Taukei’aho 2, Leroy Carter, Kaylum Boshier; Conversions: Josh Jacomb 3/4)
Highlanders 23 (Tries: Jona Nareki, Caleb Tangitau, Veveni Lasaqa; Conversions: Cameron Millar 1/1; Penalties: Cameron Millar 2/2)
Half-time: 7–14
Yellow cards: Jona Nareki (Highlanders, 51′), Reuben O’Neill (Chiefs, 80′)
Venue: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Attendance: 15,476
Referee: Angus Mabey (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Michael Winter, Ben Wollerton
TMO: Aaron Paterson
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