Steve Hepburn

Sitting back and taking a good look at his game appears to have done halfback Aaron Smith plenty of good.

Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph has shaken up his forward pack, as both Joe Wheeler and Jamie Mackintosh come back into the starting side.

As he lay in a hospital bed with a massive leg infection, Matt Faddes' chances of playing for a national side in front of more than 100,000 fans seemed a distant dream.

Sometimes, you just know what you are going to get.

Otago opening batsman Hamish Rutherford has signed for English county side Essex.

Kavanagh College believes any combined Dunedin co-educational team should be considered in the future but said a proposal along those lines did not gain traction this season.

All roads lead increasingly to the Land of the Rising Sun for rugby players. All Black and Highlanders centre Tamati Ellison is the latest top player to head to Japan, as he rejoins Ricoh at the end of the Super 15. Rugby writer Steve Hepburn looks at Japanese rugby and its attractions.

Kavanagh College has pulled out of the Highlanders First XV competition.

There has been an average of two referrals per Super 15 game under the new third-match-official laws, with most of those rulings relating to tries.

The Highlanders are back in the dog box.