Highlanders to play Hurricanes on Easter Saturday

The Highlanders return to Forsyth Barr for their seventh-round match against the high-flying Hurricanes who sit second on the table behind the undefeated Chiefs.

Looking for their fourth consecutive win Head Coach Clarke Dermody has named a side that includes the return of Josh Dickson, Shannon Frizell and Andrew Makalio to the starting forward pack and the retention of the well performed Hugh Renton at number eight. Marino Mikaele Tu’u will make his impact from the bench which for the second week in a row has a six/two split.

In the backs, Folau Fakatava starts at nine and young Otago halfback, James Arscott, will come onto the bench, he will be joined by Scott Gregory who returns from injury, otherwise the backline is unchanged from last week.

Despite his teams run of victories Coach Dermody knows this will be a stern test for his team, “The Hurricanes are in form team who rightly sit near the top of the table, we are under no illusions how much of a challenge they will present. It will be a great test of our game against a team of real quality, we are looking forward to the opportunity, particularly at home in front of our fans.”

Highlanders v Hurricanes – 7:05pm, Saturday 8^th April, Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin

1. Ethan de Groot
2. Andrew Makalio
3. Jermaine Ainsley
4. Pari Pari Parkinson
5. Josh Dickson
6. Shannon Frizell
7. Billy Harmon (c)
8. Hugh Renton
9. Folau Fakatava
10. Mitch Hunt
11. Jonah Lowe
12. Thomas Umaga-Jensen
13. Fetuli Paea
14. Mosese Dawai
15. Sam Gilbert

Reserves: 16. Leni Apisai 17. Daniel Lienert-Brown 18. Saula Ma’u 19. Max Hicks 20. Sean Withy 21. James Arscott 22. Scott Gregory 23. Marino Mikaele Tu’u

Not available due to injury: Vili Koroi (knee) Marty Banks (groin) Jona Nareki (foot) Jeff Thwaites (back) Freddie Burns (knee) Rhys Marshall (concussion) Josh Timu (concussion) Will Tucker (concussion) Jake Te Hiwi (ankle) Martin Bogado (quad) Connor Garden-Bachop (calf)

Note: Aaron Smith is unavailable for this game as he has returned to Fielding to support his family who are dealing with a family illness.