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Chiefs v Highlanders: What You Need To Know
Chiefs v Highlanders
Kick-off: 7:05pm Saturday 19 April
FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
The Chiefs will be ruing their slip up last weekend in Sydney, in a game where very little went right against the Waratahs.
Clayton McMillan's side looked anything but the team that had previously taken up residency at the top of the Super Rugby Pacific ladder, with the loss handing that position over to the Crusaders.
Meanwhile, the Highlanders got themselves a win at home over the Drua in an entertaining match. It lifted them up to seventh on the ladder, with every result now crucial for their play-off chances.
Team lists
Chiefs: 1. Aidan Ross, 2. Brodie McAlister, 3. George Dyer, 4. Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 5. Tupou Vaa'i, 6. Samipeni Finau, 7. Jahrome Brown, 8. Luke Jacobson (c), 9. Xavier Roe, 10. Damian McKenzie, 11. Leroy Carter, 12. Quinn Tupaea, 13. Daniel Rona, 14. Emoni Narawa, 15. Shaun Stevenson
Bench: 16. Samisoni Taukei'aho, 17. Jared Proffit, 18. Reuben O'Neill, 19. Jimmy Tupou, 20. Kaylum Boshier, 21. Cortez Ratima, 22. Josh Jacomb, 23. Anton Lienert-Brown
Highlanders: 1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Henry Bell, 3. Sosefo Kautai, 4. Mitch Dunshea, 5. Fabian Holland, 6. Oliver Haig, 7. Veveni Lasaqa, 8. Hugh Renton (cc), 9. Folau Fakatava, 10. Cameron Millar, 11. Jona Nareki, 12. Timoci Tavatavanawai (cc), 13. Thomas Umaga-Jensen, 14. Taniela Filimone, 15. Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens
Bench: 16. Soane Vikena, 17. Daniel Lienert-Brown, 18. Saula Ma'u, 19. TK Howden, 20. Will Stodart, 21. Adam Lennox, 22. Sam Gilbert, 23. Jonah Lowe
Chiefs selections
Damian McKenzie and Shaun Stevenson revert back to their usual positions of first five and fullback, which is a clear reaction to the way things didn't work in Sydney. It means Josh Jacomb goes to the bench, meanwhile Quinn Tupaea and Daniel Rona start in the midfield with Anton Lienert-Brown backing them up. Xavier Roe gets the nod at halfback in the constantly changing situation with him and Cortez Ratima.
Highlanders selections
Not many changes to the Highlanders side that beat the Drua, with Mitch Dunshea the only one in the starting lineup. He comes in at lock, moving Will Stodart to the bench, meanwhile Soane Vikena and TK Howden come onto the bench. Folau Fakatava and Cam Millar unsurprisingly retain their spots in the inside backs.
Key stats
The Chiefs have won their last five Super Rugby Pacific games against the Highlanders despite being outscored in the second half in three of those games.
The Highlanders' 43-20 win in their last Super Rugby Pacific game was the first time they had scored 40+ points in their last 31 games, they will be looking to score 40+ in consecutive fixtures for the first time since a three-game streak in March 2023.
Damian McKenzie has scored 101 points this season,the only player to score over 100 points and 19 more points than the next best player, which is Sam Gilbert with 82).
McKenzie has scored 122 points across his last nine games against the Highlanders.
What they're saying
"It's game by game. I know it's a cliché…the Chiefs are one of the better teams in the competition so we have to be on song." - Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph.
"As we get to the back end of the competition, every game's going to be important to accumulate points. This is a big one for us." - Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan.
The last time they met
Chiefs 28 - 21 Highlanders
This one was looking like a walk in the park for the Chiefs as they held a 28-0 lead with 20 minutes to go, before a stirring comeback by the Highlanders saw them pull back to within a converted try.
Interestingly, the game was played in the same sort of wet conditions we can expect for tonight's match.
What's going to happen
It's hard to see McMillan's team play as poorly as they did in Sydney two weekends in a row, but the Tahs did the Highlanders a favour by exposing some real deficiencies in the Chiefs' game.
If the Highlanders can get some parity at set piece and drill the ball downfield, they'll have a shot - however keeping it away from McKenzie and Stevenson while doing so will make it a tall order. For the Chiefs it's just a case of getting back to basics.
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