Evergreen Highlanders hooker Jason Rutledge is wary of the threat posed by the Melbourne Rebels going into their Super Rugby match in Invercargill on Friday.
The teams approach the game with contrasting mindsets, the Highlanders rocked by their first loss of the campaign and a growing injury toll and the Rebels buoyed by their first win of the season.
Not only were the Highlanders downed 33-26 by the Brumbies in Canberra, but they lost playmaker Colin Slade and star openside flanker John Hardie for the season, and utility forward Nick Crosswell for the next two months with torn medial knee ligaments.
Slade remains in Australia after suffering a broken tibia and fibula, while Hardie had an operation on Wednesday on his broken toe. They are three of eight Highlanders not available because of injuries.
Rutledge will get his first start of the season in place of All Blacks’ hooker Andrew Hore, who has a calf strain, and he will form an all-Southland front row with captain Jamie Mackintosh and Chris King.
All Black forwards Jarrad Hoeata and Adam Thomson return from injury, with English international James Haskell moving from the blindside to the openside.
In the backs, Chris Noakes will start at five-eighth in place of Slade.
The Rebels beat the Force 30-29 in Melbourne last weekend and there has been additional good news this week with star backs James O’Connor (hamstring) and Kurtley Beale (calf) back in the starting line-up.
“They’re a talented bunch,” Rutledge said.
“They’re one of those teams that can rip you to pieces in a short time if you lose concentration. They’re very hard to stop if they get a bit of confidence and get on a roll. It’s all about trying to shut them out of the game early.”
Rutledge said the Highlanders had to learn quickly from their mistakes in Canberra.
“It was very frustrating,” he said.
“A lot of things went wrong. We conceded turnovers, they went wide and we were really stretched. They beat us to the breakdown. They were hungrier. Nothing really gelled but we still got close.”
Rutledge will pack down against another veteran, Adam Freier, who is closing in on 100 Super appearances and who gained 25 Test caps for the Wallabies.
“Some people might under-estimate the Rebels pack but we certainly don’t,” Rutledge said.
“If there was any complacency, it got knocked out of us last week.”
The Rebels had losses to the Waratahs (35-19), the Reds (11-6) and the Cheetahs (33-26) before their victory over the Force. They have played the Highlanders just once, losing 40-18 in Melbourne last year.