Pryor move for injured Highlanders
A rash of injuries forced Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph to make a number of changes to his team for the Round Six Super Rugby outing against the Hurricanes in Dunedin on Friday.
The team features Dan Pryor, who is returning from injury, on the side of the scrum.
He replaces John Hardie, who started in place of Shane Christie – who in turn was forced to withdraw from the starting team after re-injuring his hamstring during the pre-match warm-up ahead of last Saturday's win over the Waratahs.
Hardie has also ben ruled out with a dislocated ankle.
Gareth Evans, who featured in a curtain raiser and was hauled out of the grandstand to play his second game of the day against the Waratahs, is also in the matchday 23.
The fractured thumb suffered by South African prop Ross Geldenhuys has resulted in a reshuffle of the front row.
Josh Hohneck moves from loosehead prop to tighthead in place of the injured Geldenhuys, with Brendon Edmonds starting at loosehead.
Daniel Leniert-Brown, who was bought into the Highlanders squad following the season-ending knee-ligament injury to Ma'afu Fia, will potentially make his Super Rugby debut from the replacement bench.
The backline has a settled look to it, with same line up-taking the field for the third game in a row.
Frontline players unavailable this week include Shane Christie (hamstring), Richard Buckman (knee), Kane Hames (suspended) Ross Geldenhuys (Thumb) John Hardie (ankle).
Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (co-captain), 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Shaun Treeby, 11 Patrick Osborne, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Nasi Manu (co-captain), 7 Dan Pryor, 6 Elliot Dixon, 5 Joe Wheeler, 4 Tom Franklin, 3 Josh Hohneck, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Brendon Edmonds.
Replacements: 16 Ash Dixon, 17 Daniel Leniert-Brown, 18 Pingi Tala'apitaga, 19 Mark Reddish, 20 Gareth Evans, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Marty Banks, 23 Jason Emery.
Date: Friday, March 20
Venue: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Kick-off: 19.35 (08.35 GMT)
Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Paul Williams (New Zealand)
TMO: Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
