Highlanders ring the changes for Reds
Loosehead prop Brendan Edmonds has been sidelined for the season with a serious knee injury. Daniel Lienert-Brown comes off the bench to replace Edmonds and will start in his seventeenth game for the club. Tasman prop, Ross Geldenhuys, returns to the playing 23, and together with Josh Hohneck, will provide a great depth of experience on the reserves bench.
A head laceration sustained in last week’s game has ruled Elliot Dixon out for the week, which will make way for Luke Whitelock to return to the starting team while Dan Pryor rotates to the bench for co-captain Shane Christie. After a week off to refresh Mark Reddish will start ahead of Tom Franklin at lock.
A concussion to co-captain Ben Smith will see him miss his first game of the season with Matt Faddes moving from wing to fullback and Jack Wilson, who had
an impressive debut against the Melbourne Rebels, will start on the right wing in just his second outing for the club. Lima Sopoaga returns from injury to again partner with Aaron Smith and Hayden Parker will make his impact from the bench this week.
Highlanders: 15 Matt Faddes, 14 Jack Wilson, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Rob Thompson, 11 Pat Osborne, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Liam Squire, 7 Shane Christie (Captain), 6 Luke Whitelock, 5 Joe Wheeler, 4 Mark Reddish, 3 Siosiua Halanukonuka, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Daniel Lienert-Brown
Replacements: 23 Jason Emery, 22 Hayden Parker, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 20 Dan Pryor, 19 Tom Franklin, 18 Josh Hohneck, 17 Ross Geldenhuys, 16 Ash Dixon
Date: Saturday, April 9
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-off: 19.45 local time (21.45 NZST, 09.45 GMT)
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Paul Williams (New Zealand), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)
