The New Zealand franchises named their squads yesterday for the tournament at Suncorp Stadium on February 10-11 and the Highlanders will have the likes of Tevita Li, Matt Faddes and Gareth Evans to call on.
Hooker Liam Coltman, who went on last year's end-of-year tour with the All Blacks but only played 20 minutes, has been granted a release by New Zealand Rugby and will line up in Queensland.
Highlanders coach Tony Brown said last week the side's All Blacks would not be match-ready for the tournament and would not be selected.
They would be available for a warm-up match against the Waratahs in Sydney on February 16.
Brown said yesterday the squad to play in the inaugural tournament was aware of the fast-paced nature of the game.
''We had a practice game last week and obviously with five less guys on the paddock there is a lot of running around. It's a great opportunity to get some running rugby under our belts and I know the players and coaching staff are pretty excited about the occasion,'' he said
The Highlanders are drawn to play the Brumbies and Hurricanes on day one and the Bulls on day two.
The Highlanders backs include speedsters Faddes, Li and youngsters Fletcher Smith and Sio Tomkinson.
Marty Banks, who only came back into the squad last week, replacing an injured Hayden Parker, has also been named.
Halfback Josh Renton will log his first playing minutes since he was injured in a club game in May last year.
In the forwards, there is plenty of pace with the likes of Josh Dickson, Aki Seiuli and Tom Franklin selected.
Two interesting names are young Otago loose forward Dillon Hunt, who has been training with the team for most of the pre-season, and North Harbour hooker Adrian Smith.
The side will be skippered by loose forward Luke Whitelock. Co-captain Ash Dixon is not selected.
All up, nine All Blacks are appearing in the tournament although only Coltman is from the national side which toured the northern hemisphere last year.
