Same again for the Highlanders

 

The Crusaders are fresh off a demolition job on the Sharks in Durban, while the Highlanders return from a week off for the bye.

 

The Highlanders took a little while to hit their straps in this year's competition, coming off a bye in Round One to loose 20-26 to this week's opponents.

 

However, they have since been on a roll, picking up some hard-fought victories along the way.

 

The Crusaders are another team that has shown that they are on form at the moment, hitting 50-plus points against two different South African opponents over three weeks.

 

Traditionally a close encounter, both sides will be keen to maintain their recent success heading into the halfway point of the competition.

 

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 James Lentjes, 6 Elliot Dixon, 5 Joe Wheeler, 4 Tom Franklin, 3 Josh Hohneck, 2 Ash Dixon, 1 Brendon Edmonds.

Replacements: 16 Liam Coltman, 17 Daniel Lienert-Brown, 18 Pingi Tala'apitaga, 19 Mark Reddish, 20 Dan Pryor, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Marty Banks, 23 Jason Emery.