Saturday night's Super Rugby Aotearoa clash with the Hurricanes looms as an historic night for two veteran Highlanders.
Co-captains Ash Dixon and Aaron Smith will bring up special milestones in their final game of the tournament at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Hooker Dixon will play his 100th game for the franchise, while All Blacks No.9 Smith hits 150 appearances for his beloved blue-and-golds.
Both have been standouts in 2020, despite just two wins from seven so far, and the pair were key figures in the Super Rugby-winning side of 2015.
"Ash is a humble man who leads by example and has set a good standard for our forwards throughout the competition," says forwards coach Clarke Dermody. "We all very proud of his achievement."
Smith recently scooped the Highlanders Back of the Year, Fans' Player of the Year and Highlander Man awards, showing the form that had him considered the best halfback on the planet.
Assistant coach Tony Brown acknowledges Smith’s contribution to the team.
"He loves this team and wants to see this team at the top," says Brown. "He knows that if we are to get there, it’s up to him to drive it and that’s what he does week after week."
The clash may be played in an empty stadium, with Dunedin currently at COVID-19 Alert Level 2, although the Government is yet to confirm if the Auckland lockdown will extend beyond Friday night.
Coach Aaron Mauger hopes they get the chance to farewell their fans in person on Saturday.
"We can’t thank our fans enough for the amazing support they have given us this year," says Mauger. "It’s inspiring for the team to know we have the community behind us.
"We have one last chance to put our game out there on Saturday. We’ll be chasing an 80-minute effort that our co-captains and the team can be proud of."
The team has only one change from last week's thrilling loss to the Crusaders, with Taranaki flanker Tom Florence replacing Jesse Parete on the bench. Florence would make his Highlanders debut.
Highlanders: 1-Ayden Johnstone, 2-Ash Dixon (cc), 3-Siate Tokolahi, 4-Pari Pari Parkinson, 5-Jack Whetton, 6-Shannon Frizell, 7-Dillon Hunt, 8-Marino Mikaele-Tu'u, 9-Aaron Smith (cc), 10-Josh Ioane, 11-Jona Nareki, 12-Patelesio Tomkinson, 13-Michael Collins, 14- Josh McKay, 15-Mitch Hunt
Reserves: 16-Liam Coltman, 17-Daniel Lienert-Brown, 18-Jeff Thwaites, 19-Manaaki Selby-Rickit, 20-Teariki Ben-Nicholas, 21-Folau Fakatava, 22-Ngatungane Punivai, 23-Tom Florence
Join us for live updates of the Highlanders v Hurricanes Super Rugby Aotearoa clash from 7:05pm Saturday
