Highlanders move Faddes to fullback
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Following on from their Round 10 win against the Blues, Highlanders head coach Aaron Mauger has stuck largely with the same group of players for the clash against the Sunwolves.
In the forwards, the hard-working Shannon Frizell makes way for the captain Luke Whitelock at No.6 with Elliot Dixon retaining his spot at No.8 following some good form over the last few weeks.
In the backs, Patelesio Tomkinson moves to the right wing to accommodate the return of Rob Thompson at centre.
Matt Faddes moves to fullback to cover for the rested Ben Smith.
The bench will have a six/two split with Dillon Hunt being included in the forwards mix, while Kayne Hammington and Bryn Gatland will cover the backs.
Here’s #YourLanders to play the @sunwolves on Friday night in Tokyo! #HighlandersANDyou #SUNvHIG pic.twitter.com/sHuphTqgSs
— Pulse Energy Highlanders (@Highlanders) April 24, 2019
Highlanders: 15 Matt Faddes, 14 Sio Tomkinson, 13 Rob Thompson, 12 Teihorangi Walden, 11 Tevita Li, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Elliot Dixon, 7 James Lentjes, 6 Luke Whitelock (captain), 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Jackson Hemopo, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Daniel Lienert-Brown.
Replacements: 16 Ash Dixon, 17 Sef Fa’agase, 18 Siate Tokolahi, 19 Josh Dickson, 20 Shannon Frizell, 21 Kayne Hammington, 22 Bryn Gatland, 23 Dillon Hunt.
Date: Friday, April 26
Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo
Kick-off: 19.00 (22.00 NZ time; 10.00 GMT)
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
TMO: Minoru Fuji (Japan)
