Waratahs v Highlanders

[Stargazer]

Highlanders

1 Daniel Lienert-Brown
2 Ash Dixon (cc)
3 Tyrel Lomax
4 Jackson Hemopo
5 Tom Franklin
6 Elliot Dixon
7 Dillon Hunt
8 Luke Whitelock
9 Aaron Smith
10 Lima Sopoaga
11 Tevita Nabura
12 Patelesio Tomkinson
13 Rob Thompson
14 Waisake Naholo
15 Ben Smith (cc)

Reserves:
16 Liam Coltman
17 Aki Seiuli
18 Kalolo Tuiloma
19 Shannon Frizell
20 Marino Mikaele Tu’u
21 Kayne Hammington
22 Josh Ioane
23 Tevita Li

Not available: Thomas Umaga-Jensen (shoulder), Richard Buckman (neck) Liam Squire (thumb) Siate Tokolahi (Knee) Teihorangi Walden (concussion)

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Highlanders Team To Play The Waratahs

The return of Jackson Hemopo and Dillon Hunt to the pack, Patelesio Tomkinsons’ selection in the midfield and Aaron Smith back at halfback are the main features of the Pulse Energy Highlanders team to take on the Waratahs on Saturday.

Hemopo replaces veteran lock Alex Ainley and the hard-working Dillon Hunt returns for James Lentjes. In the backs, Aaron Smith takes the place of the well performed Kayne Hammington, and Tevita Li is back from injury and will take a spot on the bench.

Patelesio Tomkinson gets his first starting opportunity in the midfield with Teihorangi Walden sitting the game out after experiencing concussion symptoms during the week. A former NZ U20 player, Tomkinson, is a hard-hitting young midfielder from Otago who has had limited opportunities since joining the club last season.

[NTA]

Waratahs will crumble at home after the good performance in ChCh.

Consistency not our strong suit.

[Damo]

I think the streak will be broken tonight.

[Bones]

@damo Definitely the underdogs.

[Bones]

That was brilliant. Flash up the graphics and talk about the stats for Naholo....but show Nabura on screen.

[Tim]

@bones Well Sky did just have Ryan Crotty winning a penalty at loosehead prop, so it's the usual SANZA excellence.

[Damo]

@bones said in Waratahs v Highlanders:

@damo Definitely the underdogs.

Plucky fighters from the deep south. Won't be enough tonight though.

[Machpants]

Those shirts will blind the tahs, maybe?

[Kirwan]

@machpants said in Waratahs v Highlanders:

Those shirts will blind the tahs, maybe?

Nice to see a team not in a shade of blue for a change.

[Damo]

Poor from the Highlanders there. They should have taken the tackle and gone through a couple of phases before attempting to score a try.

[Tim]

Massive forward pass.

[Tim]

@tim Really poor not to pick that up.

[Bones]

Fucken blues defence.

[Tim]

@bones Well Hunt is moving back to Harbour. Maybe he's already adjusting.

[antipodean]

Listening to these commentators reminds me why children get cancer.

[Kirwan]

Well I’ve never seen someone kick a player like that before. Red?

[Bones]

@kirwan can't see why not really.

Fucken hate this big screen operator shit though.

[Kirwan]

Couldn’t be anything else really.

[Damo]

Can't really argue with that I'm afraid.

[Stargazer]

Red card. Completely justified. What an idiot. The NZ-Aussie winning streak is going to end tonight.