Steve Hepburn

Otago captain Alando Soakai said his side just had to do whatever was needed to win yesterday.

Otago hooker Peter Mirrielees was stood down from yesterday's game because of an incident last week.

Auckland bowler Jamie Hill is not one of those sportsmen who need hours of preparation.

Colin Slade has signed for the Highlanders, giving the franchise an immediate shot in the arm as it starts to rebuild under new coach Jamie Joseph.

The woe continues. Otago slumped to its fifth straight loss in the ITM Cup last night, falling 25-15 to Taranaki at Carisbrook.

Two Manawatu players, halfback Aaron Smith and flanker Nick Crosswell, have signed for the Highlanders but coach Jamie Joseph says most of the squad will come from the South.

A woeful second half saw Otago slump to a 35-23 loss to North Harbour in Auckland last night, leaving it rooted to the bottom of the table.

New Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph only started his job last week but he has already been busy talking to players and lining up candidates for a move south.

All Black Ben Smith has been shifted to fullback and loose forward Brad Cameron gets his first start as Otago coach Phil Mooney looks to recharge his side and find the first win of the season.

When Otago prop Sam Hibbard first came south, turning out in the blue and gold was not his top priority.

Eben Joubert did not know what was worse - dislocating his shoulder or standing on the sideline watching the shield dream fade away.

Otago cannot afford to dwell too long on its unsuccessful Ranfurly Shield challenge, coach Phil Mooney says, although he concedes discipline must improve.

The top seats for Dunedin's World Cup games have been heavily oversubscribed - due to the small number of prime seats at Carisbrook - and that has led to some people missing out on tickets, organisers say.

Otago coach Phil Mooney has looked to inject some energy into his forward pack to play Southland in the Ranfurly Shield challenge in Invercargill tomorrow.

So this is it. The big one. The chance of all chances. The opportunity to get rid of 53 years of hurt.

Otago captain Alando Soakai will bring up 50 games for his province this weekend in the most important of games but says he will not be stressing the importance of the Log o' Wood before kick-off.

Phil Mooney is about to launch into his first season as Otago coach. Rugby writer Steve Hepburn talks to Mooney about his hopes for the national championship and what needs to be done to ensure Otago finishes in the top seven.

Jamie Joseph said, in a rugby sense, it was not a hard decision to move to the Highlanders.

Coach Phil Mooney says Otago must be resilient and bounce back from its poor performance against Counties-Manukau on Saturday.