Lineout forward back but ‘Landers lose their ‘Mr Fix-It’ Evans
Good news. Bad news.
The Highlanders have got form lock Josh Dickson back from suspension a week earlier than anticipated.
His three-week ban for a high shot on an opponent was trimmed to two weeks after he did some remedial work on his tackling technique.
Dickson’s presence in the pack will bolster the Highlanders’ prospects of recording a rare win against the Reds in Brisbane when the sides play late tonight New Zealand time.
There will be no Gareth Evans, though. The experienced Hawke’s Bay loosie tore his pectoral muscle during the match against the Brumbies in Melbourne two weeks ago.
He requires surgery and will miss the remainder of the Super Rugby Pacific competition.
Highlanders coach Tony Brown said Evans had been in good form and his loss was a blow.
“He’s been a little bit of a fix-it man around the loose forwards. He’s been one of our key players up until now.”
Dickson’s return came as a surprise when the team was named. He was not expected back until next week’s home match against the Force.
But he will line up for the game against the Reds thanks to rugby’s equivalent of a defensive driving course.
Any player banned for foul play involving head contact can apply to have the final week of their sanction substituted by undertaking a coaching intervention which addresses the issue which caused or contributed to the foul play.
The programme is overseen by
World Rugby and is only available to first-time offenders.
“It is a World Rugby initiative which is obviously good for us,” Brown said.
The Reds’ lineout accuracy has been poor, whereas it has been a strength for the Highlanders.
Having Dickson back in the lineup is an opportunity to put the Reds under pressure in that phase.
The backline is unchanged from the one which faced Fijian Drua.*