Smith to miss game versus Sunwolves
THE Highlanders will be without their talisman for a match shaping as a potential banana skin for the side.
But the Highlanders are not leaving anything to chance for their match against the Sunwolves on Friday night in Tokyo.
It is the side’s first — and most probably last — game against the Sunwolves in Japan
The side was scheduled to arrive in Tokyo last night but captain Ben Smith has stayed at home, the Highlanders deciding his second rest will come in this game.
Under All Black rules this year, All Blacks must have two games off during the season.
Smith did not play any preseason games and then did not play in the third game of the season against the Rebels. So the game against the Sunwolves will be his second game off, which should keep him clear to play the rest of the Super Rugby season.
The Highlanders have four games in a row after the match in Tokyo before a bye at the start of June.
Under the rules, players cannot play more than six games in a row.
If Smith does not miss a game in the next three weeks, he will be unable to play both games in South Africa which are shaping up as critical matches for the team.
The match against the Crusaders on March 16, which was canned because of the Christchurch mosque attacks, does not count as a rest game, as players were still involved in the buildup to it.
Rested players are not allowed to take part in any team activities during the week before the match.
With Smith rested, the captaincy will be taken by No 8 Luke Whitelock, and Josh McKay or Matt Faddes is likely to start at fullback.
The Highlanders have taken 15 forwards and 10 backs to Tokyo — young prop Ayden Johnstone has not made the trip. Prop Sef Fa’agase has gone, though, and is likely to make his Highlanders debut on Friday night.
McKay has played just the one game for the Highlanders this year, on the wing in the loss to the Rebels early last month.
Faddes can play fullback but with few options in the outside backs, he may continue to play on the right wing, meaning McKay could start at fullback.
Josh Ioane played at fullback when Smith was absent against the Rebels but that is unlikely to be repeated, as Ioane will be preferred at first fiveeighth.
Midfielder Rob Thompson comes back into the squad after missing last week because of family reasons.
The Sunwolves are coming off a narrow loss against the Hurricanes in Tokyo. The side was ahead for a long period of the match but went down 2923.
The Highlanders match was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday but has been moved forward to Friday night and will kick off at 10pm (NZ time).
THE Northern Warriors grabbed the spoils in the annual battle between north and south in southern region rugby over Easter weekend.
The crowd at Kaitangata was treated to a fantastic match for the Caelib Edwards Memorial Cup.
The Warriors won 3326 over the more fancied Southern Battlers after being 127 ahead at the break. This is the first time the Warriors have won the contest since its inception in 2016.
The Northern side started well and took control of territory and possession from the start.
The Warriors opened the scoring when hardrunning midfielder Jonny Sargent spied a gap and ran in unopposed. After the successful conversion, the Southern side hit back almost immediately, second fiveeighth Angus Mitchell scoring after a nice buildup.
The Warriors continued their dominance and were rewarded with another try midway through the half to flanker Jonty McKinnel.
The Southern Battlers started the second half well.
The passes started to stick, and they kept the ball in hand. The Battlers upped the tempo of the game and chose to tap penalties instead of using their shaky set piece.
They made metres through the middle and took the lead with tries to backs Nico Burgess and Tyler Bichan.
The Warriors kept their cool and made the most of possession when they had it.
Halfback Ethan Jane scored to even the scores up with 20 minutes left. Both benches were being used to great effect.
The Warriors took the lead again after some more solid possession.
No 8 Kieran Calteaux crossed handy to the posts to put his side ahead.
The Battlers’ home crowd sensed the worst but were given a boost when utility back Damon Clement scored in the corner to bring the game within two points with the kick to come.
Nico Burgess slotted the kick from the sideline to even the score up yet again.
In the dying seconds the Warriors had the ball on halfway and mounted one last attack. The ball was thrown through several pairs of hands before it landed in the hands of Warriors winger Arnold Dinh who scored the winning try.
The conversion was successful, and the Warriors had their first taste of victory.
The Northern loose forward trio of Liam Davies, McKinnel and Calteaux were immense — getting through a mountain of work and were the difference between the two teams.
The platform was set up front by captain Ben Millar and fellow prop Max Chabert. Sargent ran well all day while Louie Pengelly and Josh Botting added plenty of impact and cool heads off the bench.
Prop Daniel Miller was good for the Battlers.
He ran well with the ball and did not shy off on defence. Cole Birse and Ross Burnet were also sharp. Mitchell was dangerous while Bichan looked solid in his first game back from injury.