A penalty goal in injury time by Lima Sopoaga gave the Highlanders a thrilling 29-28 win over the Bulls in Pretoria on Sunday morning (NZ time).
Sopoaga slammed over the 40m kick after the final hooter had sounded, to give the Landers their third-straight win.
It was a kicking masterclass from the first-five ,who kicked a perfect seven from seven in the match, scoring 19 points at Loftus Versfeld.
Once again the Highlanders proved they don't need the ball to win matches, with only 32 percent possession and 23 percent territory, and they made double the number of tackles compared to their opponents (122 to 60).
"It could have gone either way in an awesome match; it's a tough place to play. We knew it would come down to the wire and we were lucky to take those key moments," said Highlanders captain Ben Smith.
The Highlanders scored the first try of the match through Aaron Smith, but the home side hit back, scoring two of their own - one of which was a penalty try which saw fullback Fletcher Smith sin-binned as they took a 14-10 lead into the break.
Early in the second half, the Highlanders retook the lead with an excellent team try. The break was made down the right wing, and Aaron Smith played in Fletcher Smith for the easy run-in to the line.
A Sopoaga penalty made it 23-14 shortly afterwards, and the Dunedin-based side appeared to be taking control of the match.
However, the Bulls got back into the contest when Jason Jenkins scored to make it a two-point game.
The high altitude left the Highlanders looking exhausted as they went into the last 10 minutes with a narrow lead and in the 75th minute their tigerish defence was breached when Jesse Kriel scored, and the Bulls thought they had done enough to win the match.
But the boot of Sopoaga ensured the Highlanders claimed their sixth win of the season, as they moved to fifth on the overall standings.
The Highlanders will face the Sharks in Durban in their next match.
Newshub.
