Hands up if you picked the Highlanders to be two from two with wins over the Hurricanes and Chiefs under their belts after the opening two rounds of the Super Rugby season?

There may be a couple of arms raised in the deep south, where they will say that the Southland Stags’ influence is shining through, but most will agree the state of the New Zealand conference is not what they expected.

It is early days, but there may also be a lesson in the success of Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph’s tactics of attacking the breakdown in numbers on defence rather than fanning out across the park.

It may be no coincidence that the Sharks, under John Plumtree’s coaching, are topping the South African conference after shutting out the Blues 26-12 in Durban yesterday.

Or that the Waratahs’ dominant pack, combined with the brilliance of outsides Kurtley Beale and Drew Mitchell, has guided them to the top of the Australian standings after a surprisingly comfortable 30-6 win over the Reds in Sydney.

Lineout drives and fast-moving defensive lines have been a feature for both the Sharks and Waratahs, who, like the Highlanders, have outmuscled their opponents at the breakdown.

Blindside flanker Adam Thomson has been the star of the first two weeks and pilfered plenty of ball at Carisbrook, where the Highlanders beat the Chiefs for the first time in eight years.

Higher powers may be wondering quietly whether Thomson’s pedigree as a test openside flanker, albeit a backup, should be revisited after he outplayed Liam Messam, Tanerau Latimer and Scott Waldrom at the breakdown.

Unsung locks Jarrad Hoeata and Josh Bekhuis can take plenty of credit, too, for sacrificing themselves to the task of cleaning out rucks.

Things will get tough for the Highlanders as injuries further test their depth in South Africa, where they play the Bulls and Stormers before returning to meet the Crusaders.

For now, though, they are proof that strong packs and committed defences are trumping flashy backlines.

The Waratahs have yet to concede a try in two matches and their defence was so good at the weekend that Reds halves Will Genia and Quade Cooper simply ran out of ideas, beaten up front and unable to move the ball wide.

Defending champions Bulls, too, have been able to fall back on their forwards to get out of jail against the Lions in week one, then the Cheetahs.

No doubt it’s a trend the analysis team in the All Blacks’ coaching staff are taking note.

Chiefs coach Ian Foster should be, too, after his side’s directionless effort in Dunedin, where the ball appeared to be swung wide with the hope tries would materialise.

The Crusaders and Hurricanes have had an odd start to the competition, the cancellation of their match denying one of them at least two competition points. The other bad news for New Zealand teams is that South Africa’s “easier” opponents, the Lions and Cheetahs, look much improved.

The Lions pushed the Stormers before losing 19-16 in Cape Town, while the Cheetahs were denied only by the brilliance of Bulls halfback Fourie du Preez in Bloemfontein.

Cross-conference matches dominate the next round and it will be interesting to see how the points start to tally up in coming weeks.

But if the six-team Super Rugby playoffs were tomorrow they would include three South African teams in the Sharks, Bulls and Stormers, two from Australia, the Waratahs and Brumbies, and just one from New Zealand, the Highlanders.

Toby Robson – The Dominion Post