Highlanders to play Crusaders first up
THE Highlanders will open their Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign next year with a game against the defending champions.
The draw was released last night and the Highlanders are set to start the competition at Forsyth Barr Stadium against the Crusaders on February 26, the first game of the competition.
The competition is once again involving the five New Zealand sides although a final has been added and will be played on May 8.
The door has been left open for games against Australian Super Rugby sides.
In a press release, New Zealand Rugby professional rugby and performance general manager Chris Lendrum said discussions were continuing with the Australian union and it was hoped details would be revealed soon.
The Highlanders and other franchises have already started advertising season ticket sales for next year which indicate six home games, so the games against the Australian sides look likely.
The Highlanders will play six of their eight games in the Super Rugby Aotearoa competition on a Friday night. The 20 games across the competition will be played mostly on Friday and Saturday nights although there will be four games on Sunday afternoons.
After taking on the Crusaders under the roof, the side will play the Chiefs and Blues in successive weekends before having its first bye.
It will then have four games in a row, three of the games at Forsyth Barr Stadium and a match in Christchurch on April 2.
The bye will then occur followed by its last regular season game against the Hurricanes in the capital on April 30.
The final will be between the top two sides on May 8.
If a transtasman series takes place, it is likely to follow a couple of weeks after the end of Super Rugby Aotearoa.