Jamie Joseph's decision to rest his three All Blacks in his form backline will test the Highlanders to the fullest against the Brumbies in Canberra.
Halfback Aaron Smith, centre Malakai Fekitoa and fullback Ben Smith are all out of Friday's match, replaced by Fumiaki Tanaka, Richard Buckman and Trent Renata, respectively.
The Brumbies are going through a horror patch after falling to the Rebels in Canberra and the week before losing to the Blues at Eden Park, but Stephen Larkham's team will be helped massively by the absence of the Highlanders' big three attacking weapons.
Joseph, like all the New Zealand Super Rugby coaches, is compelled to rest his top players throughout the season, and clearly he has made a tactical decision to do it in Canberra after securing important derby victories over the Crusaders and Blues.
The Highlanders are in fifth place overall, with six victories and two defeats, while the Brumbies (five wins and four losses) are third by virtue of their leading the Australian conference.
