Naholo and Squire stay at Highlanders

The Highlanders have held on to All Blacks stars Waisake Naholo and Liam Squire.

The pair were confirmed in plans by New Zealand’s southern Super Rugby franchise for the 2019 season.

They join Rob Thompson, James Lentjes, Kayne Hammington and Siate Tokolahi in extending their Highlanders contracts.

‘‘We have been working for some time to confirm our squad for next year and we are delighted that so many of our experienced players have chosen to commit to us again for 2019,’’ Highlanders chief executive Roger Clark said yesterday.

‘‘We appreciate good players will always have options so their commitment to the Highlanders enables us to look toward next season with some certainty’’

Naholo arrived from the Blues in 2015 and played a big part in securing the Highlanders’ first championship and was also part of the World Cupwinning All Blacks in that year.

The crowd favourite has scored 36 tries for the Highlanders and remains their most potent finisher.

‘‘Dunedin and the Highlanders have been good for me, my career really started when I came here,’’ Naholo said.

‘‘I love playing for this team especially at home under the roof. I have had plenty of great times and I am keen to continue next season’’.

Highlanders head coach Aaron Mauger is pleased to have some certainty in his playing stocks moving forward.

‘‘Building and maintaining a competitive Super Rugby squad is a challenging process and requires a great deal of planning to get the right balance,’’ Mauger said.

‘‘All the guys we are re-signing now are central to our future and are quality men and players, it’s great to have them on board for 2019.’’