Highlanders fans have another date to lock in as they cross their fingers for a much better season in 2027.

The full Super Rugby Pacific draw is not released until noon on Tuesday but two Highlanders games have been confirmed.

A few days after their April 4 clash with the Fijian Drua as part of Super Round in Christchurch was announced, the Highlanders offered another teaser on Monday.

Their first home game of the new season will be a blockbuster against the Blues at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

It will kick off at 7.05pm on Saturday, February 20.

That means the Highlanders will open the season on the road the previous weekend.

While the All Blacks-laden Blues bring the added buzz of a New Zealand derby — and there should be plenty of students in town to fill the Zoo — there is no denying the fact it is a tough opener for the Highlanders.

They have won 18 of their 47 games (38%) against the Blues but have won just one of the past 10 clashes between the sides.

That sole recent success was a special one, to be fair.

It was their first home game of the 2025 season and ended in a 29-21 Highlanders victory with golden boy Finn Hurley scoring two tries.

The Highlanders claimed the wooden spoon in 2025 and were ninth this season.

Hopes remain high, however, that a squad with new first five Josh Jacomb, a healthy Fabian Holland and Dylan Pledger, the returning Shannon Frizell and Jermaine Ainsley, and other newcomers including Patrick Pellegrini and Ioane Moananu can do better in 2027.

A handful of other games were confirmed on Monday.

The season opener will be between the Crusaders and Reds at One New Zealand Stadium on February 12, the Blues will play the Hurricanes a day later, the Waratahs host the Crusaders on April 11, and the Reds host the Blues in the colour derby on April 24, a day before the inaugural Anzac Day Bledisloe Cup test.

Moana Pasifika have collapsed so the 10 remaining teams will now play 16 home-and-away games (up from 14), and bye weeks are cut from two to one.

hayden.meikle@odt.co.nz