There could be no complaints about the card, with Lavanini blatantly holding Chiefs No 8 Wallace Sititi back as he tried to support loosehead prop Ollie Norris who had just broken the defensive line.
But it was another moment in the match that Chiefs fans, players and management will be more concerned about, with fullback Damian McKenzie knocked out cold late in the second half as he tried to make a tackle.
McKenzie, who has floated between first five-eighths and fullback for the Chiefs this year, copped a mid-stride boot to the chin from Highlanders openside flanker Lucas Casey, with Casey’s heel clipping the Chiefs star.
The game had to be stopped as McKenzie lay motionless on the pitch, but he was able to walk off under his own steam, sporting a smear of blood on the side of his face.
Likewise for the Highlanders, who lost No 8 Nikora Broughton just 11 minutes into the contest due to a suspected knee injury, while star winger Caleb Tangitau went down in the final minutes of the match. Looking to make a move with ball in hand, Tangitau went down with a non-contact injury, grabbing his knee and slamming the ground in frustration before having to be taken from the field on the medicab.
“He’s an awesome player and our thoughts are with him. I think he’s had a bit of a serious injury so [we’ll] get around Tangi. He’s electric and we love him so we need to get around him,” Highlanders captain Ethan de Groot told Sky Sport.
Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph told Sky Sport the initial indication from medical staff was a ruptured Achilles, though that had not yet been confirmed.
Caleb Tangitau left the field on a medicab after an injury in the final minutes of the Highlanders’ loss to the Chiefs. Photo / Photosport
Outside of injuries and infringements, it was a good contest as the Highlanders’ defence was up to the physical test the Chiefs were throwing at them, while the visitors’ scrum was a weapon.
All Blacks loosehead prop de Groot was making his presence felt there, forcing the Chiefs to replace Sione Ahio with George Dyer at tighthead to shore up the set piece at the beginning of the second half.
But the Highlanders made their own halftime move as No 10 Cameron Millar was hooked and Taine Robinson was handed the reins for the second half as the Highlanders tried to keep their season alive.
The visitors opened the scoring in the match, with the impressive Casey making a smart read from an attacking scrum to beat Chiefs No 10 Josh Jacomb and get to the line about 20 minutes in. It came somewhat against the run of play, as the Chief spent the opening quarter of the game knocking on the door but never walking through it.
The Chiefs eventually broke through just before the 30-minute mark with No 8 Wallace Sititi going over after a nice offload from lock Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi.
Ah Kuoi played a strong hand in the contest, grabbing two tries of his own before halftime to give the Chiefs a 21-7 lead at the break. One of those was actually taken away from hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho and given to Ah Kuoi after a TMO check on Taukei’aho’s grounding saw Ah Kuoi had grounded it a couple of phases earlier.
That lead was extended when halfback Xavier Roe scooted over, before a strong run of play for the Highlanders ended in a try to fullback Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens.
While it never felt like the visitors were out of the contest, time began to get away from them and late tries to replacement hooker Brodie McAlister and midfielder Kyle Brown saw the Chiefs take a bonus-point win.
Chiefs 42 (Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi 2, Wallace Sititi, Xavier Roe, Brodie McAlister, Kyle Brown tries; Damien McKenzie 4 cons, Josh Jacomb 2 cons)
Highlanders 12 (Lucas Casey, Jacob Raumaitavuki-Kneepkens tries; Cameron Millar con)
HT: 21-7