Darwin
AKA Dingo_Darwin
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Carisbrook, Dunedin (03-06-2011 7:35 GMT)
Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith, 14 Kade Poki, 13 Kendrick Lynn, 12 Shaun Treeby, 11 Siale Piutau, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Nasi Manu, 7 John Hardie, 6 Adam Thomson 5 Josh Bekhuis, 4 Jarrad Hoeata, 3 Chris King, 2 Mo Schwalger, 1 Jamie Mackintosh (c).
Replacements:16 Jason Rutledge, 17 Bronson Murray, 18 Tom Donnelly, 19 Nick Crosswell, 20 Aaron Smith, 21 Robbie Robinson, 22 Alando Soakai.
Western Force: 15 Cameron Shepherd, 14 Alfie Mafi, 13 Patrick Dellit, 12 Rory Sidey, 11 David Smith, 10 James Stannard, 9 Mark Swanepoel, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Matt Hodgson, 5 Nathan Sharpe (c), 4 Sam Wykes, 3 Tim Fairbrother, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Kieran Longbottom.
Replacements: 16 Ben Whittaker, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Tom Hockings, 19 Richard Brown, 20 Chris Cottee, 21 Mitch Inman, 22 Nick Cummins.
Huge game for the Highlanders, who will want to put their very disappointing result last week behind them. It will probably be the last match the Highlanders play at Carisbrook (before they move into their new stadium next year), so they will want finish their time at the ground in style.
A couple of changes for the Highlanders, with Thomson (hopefully) returning at 6, and John Hardie getting his second start of the season at 7. I'm surprised to see Mo Schwalger again given the start ahead of Jason Rutledge; Mo Schwalger is reputedly stronger in the scrum, but Rutledge offers much more around the field than Schwalger. The Highlanders struggled to secure turnover ball last week, something that had become a trademark of the team thorough this season. Having Thomson back at 6 should help immensely in this regard. Good to see Hardie given the start at 7 ahead of Soakai; they are both similar quality players, but Hardie brings a slightly better running game. It is interestingly the Highlanders have gone for a 5/2 split on the bench. Slightly surprised to see Sopoaga at 10, as I thought he was going to be in Italy with the NZ Under 20 team, but it appears he will not join them till after this match.
Only one change for the Force, with Alfi Mafi replacing Nick Cummins. The Force are missing a number of key players, but played some really good rugby at times last week against the Canes. There are some good match-ups all over the park. Looking forward to seeing how the Otago locks go against the Force pair of Sharpe and Wykes, both of whom where outstanding last week against the Hurricanes. The battle in the loose-forwards will be great to watch too; unless Adam Thomson has a strong match I think the Force should have an edge in this department.
I'm looking forward to seeing Stannard again at 10, as he looked very comfortable their against the Canes, and even brought a touch of flair to the Force attack. The matchup between Kade Poki and David Smith should be great to watch too. Both are small players, but are incredibly elusive. David Smith had an outstanding game last week, while Kade Poki had some standout games earlier in the season, but seems to have tapered off in recent weeks. It wouldn't be a post from me if I didn't mention Ben Smith - it should be a good matchup between him and Cameron Shepherd, who had a strong game last week.
I'm picking (and really hoping) the will Highlanders to take it, but I don't think it will be by much - maybe between 5-10 points.
*Vbookie odds supplied by BWIN*
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