Highlanders v Hurricanes: Teams

Piri Weepu's troubled season continues with yet another appearance off the bench for the Hurricanes against the Highlanders on Saturday.

Weepu's slip behind Tyson Keats in the pecking order has tongues wagging over a likely move to France for the next Northern hemisphere season, as Weepu's All Black chances are now fading.

Weepu' missed last week's match at the Brumbies following the death of his grandfather, and now he starts on the bench against the Highlanders.

Hooker and captain Andrew Hore has been cleared of any infection to a cut in his right knee after what he said was an 'interesting' week with the doctors.

"(The doctor) was talking me through what was going on, all the stages (while he was stitching), which was interesting enough but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone else to have a crack at it," Hore said.

Frustrating

"The most frustrating thing was I had to get injected on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday while they cleaned it out before they stitched it up. The novelty of having a cut knee was well and truly over by then."

The team sits eighth in the table, eight points behind the fourth-placed Reds and needing to win their final four matches to have any chance of a semi-final.

Highlanders coach Glenn Moore has stuck with familiar combinations for the match in Dunedin, with his team out of the running for the semi-finals after securing just two wins from nine matches - but they can still damage the aspirations of others.

Full-back Israel Dagg returns to the team after pulling out of the clash against the Force injured a fortnight ago, while Michael Hobbs replaces the injured Mat Berquist at fly-half.

There are a number of changes on the bench, with hooker Peter Mirrielees in for the injured Jason Macdonald, scrum-half Scott Cowan taking the place of the injured Sean Romans, loose forward Josh Hardie named ahead of Tim Boys and James Paterson replacing Jayden Hayward.

Highlanders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Kenny Lynn, 12 Jason Shoemark, 11 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 10 Michael Hobbs, 9 Jimmy Cowan (c), 8 Steven Setephano, 7 Alando Soakai, 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Josh Bekhuis, 3 Clint Newland, 2 Jason Rutledge, 1 Chris King.
Replacements: 16 Peter Mirrielees, 17 Bronson Murray, 18 Joe Tuineau, 19 John Hardie, 20 Scott Cowan, 21 Robbie Robinson, 22 James Paterson.

Hurricanes: 15 Cory Jane, 14 Tamati Ellison, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Tyson Keats, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Karl Lowe, 6 Victor Vito, 5 Michael Patterson, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Andrew Hore (c), 1 John Schwalger.
Replacements:16 Dane Coles, 17 Jacob Ellison, 18 Jeremy Thrush, 19 Nick Crosswell, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Jason Kawau, 22 David Smith.