Winger James Lowe scored two intercept tries in the first half to set the Chiefs on course to a 24-15 win over the Highlanders in a crucial New Zealand derby in the first round of Super Rugby. The Dunedin-based Highlanders held significant advantages of territory and possession in both halves but the Chiefs used an intense and pressing defense to force errors which led to Lowe's double before halftime. The Queensland Reds opened with a 28-26 win over the Sharks, with replacement scrumhalf Jim Tuttle crossing out wide late only a minute after going on to claim the winning try before Pat Lambie missed a chance to kick the South African club to victory in Brisbane. The Queenslanders had more than double the run meters of the Durban-based Sharks, and scored four tries against two, but over-complicated their attack and had to scrape for the win on home soil. In Dunedin, Lowe's first try came from a careless back pass by All Blacks center Malakai Fekitoa and his second came from a loose pass by winger Waisake Naholo, allowing the Chiefs to take a 14-9 lead to halftime against the run of play. A slick lineout move led to a try by hooker Hika Elliot in the 46th minute which clinched victory. "We knew it was going to be a tough start," Chiefs captain Aaron Cruden said. "It was always going to be a big test for us. I thought our guys who were debuting really stood up today and it was a polished team performance." "Tonight we just didn't execute. We were right the hunt but just couldn't get over the line," Highlanders stand-in captain Sopoaga said. "Skill execution let us down. "It was maybe just a bit of nerves, maybe we were a bit too keen. We'll debrief that over the weekend and come Monday we'll be straight back into it." In Brisbane, the Reds didn't hit the front until the last eight minutes via Tuttle's try despite rampaging center Samu Kerevi scoring two tries and No. 8 Scott Higginbotham also touching down. — AP
