Steve Hepburn

What ever could go wrong did go wrong for the Highlanders tonight, as they went down 36-19 to the Cheetahs in Invercargill.

A bucket load of experience has been shifted into the Highlanders forward pack to take on the Cheetahs in Invercargill tomorrow night.

Injury worries appear to be clearing for the Highlanders and the inclusion of captain Andrew Hore will give the side a boost on Saturday.

All coaches will be vetted by police before they take junior rugby teams as part of a new policy by the New Zealand Rugby Union.

Otago coach Tony Brown is back from Japan and it looks as though another top Japanese player will once again be following him home.

History suggests the Highlanders will win in Invercargill on Saturday night - they have never lost to the Cheetahs.

The chances of the Wellington Phoenix coming back to play at the Forsyth Barr Stadium depend on football fans in the South getting out and supporting the team.

A year on from the financial meltdown at the Otago Rugby Football Union and it seems everyone wants to look forward, not back.

It is sort of like going from blackboard monitor to headmaster.

Highlanders No 8 Nasi Manu will spend at least the next three months on the sideline.

Otago lost its second game in a row in the one-day competition yesterday, falling to a heavy defeat to Canterbury in Christchurch.

So it begins. After the comings and goings of the Highlanders over the past six months, and the what-ifs and the how-will-theys, all will finally start to be revealed at Forsyth Barr Stadium tonight.

There have been plenty of big names enter the Highlanders camp this season.

More of this and they will be hanging from the rafters at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

Plenty of rust was on display when the Blues pipped the Highlanders 31-29 in Queenstown tonight.

First impressions count and they appear to be all good for All Black prop Tony Woodcock.