Southland prop to miss Super Rugby opener
“Ethan is hugely important to the team, and I felt he would benefit from another week of full training."
Southland All Black Ethan de Groot will miss the Highlanders 2024 Super Rugby competition opener in Dunedin on Saturday night.
de Groot has been ruled out of the showdown with Moana Pasifika because of a “knee niggle”.
Highlanders coach Clarke Dermody said the loosehead prop will be given an extra week to get him back up to speed.
“Ethan is hugely important to the team, and I felt he would benefit from another week of full training. He’s going to get plenty of opportunities this season and loosehead is a position we have a lot of depth and experience in.”
With de Groot out the experienced Daniel Lienert-Brown will wear the Highlanders’ No 1 jersey on Saturday night.
Two Southland Stags have been named in the 23 for the season opener with Sean Withy to start on the blindside flank, while Jack Taylor has been named on the bench.
Henry Bell has been picked to start at hooker ahead of Taylor.
Bell is one of five debutants named by the Highlanders for Saturday night.
The other four are Rhys Patchell, Tanielu Tele’a, Timoci Tavatavanawai and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens.
Dermody expressed confidence in the team selected for the round one clash against Moana Pasifika.
“We’ve had a solid pre-season where we’ve witnessed healthy competition around the paddock,” Dermody said.
“The players who have earned their place in the starting line-up this week have done so through their preseason performances and the coaching team, and I are looking forward to seeing those performances come together on Saturday.”
“There is always a lot of anticipation around the first game of the season, naturally as a team, we are keen to put on a good performance for our people. It’s an opportunity to inspire our fans and we are pretty determined to take it.”
Highlanders team to play Moana Pasifika:
Daniel Lienert-Brown
Henry Bell*
Saula Ma’u
Pari Pari Parkinson
Fabian Holland
Sean Withy
Billy Harmon (C)
Hugh Renton
Folau Fakatava
Rhys Patchell*
Jona Nareki
Sam Gilbert (VC)
Tanielu Tele’a*
Timoci Tavatavanawai*
Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens*
RESERVES
Jack Taylor
Ayden Johnstone
Jermaine Ainsley
Oliver Haig
Nikora Broughton
Nathan Hastie
Cameron Millar
Jonah Lowe
Cam Millar