Please apply to Highlanders HQ.
The hunt is on for a first five-eighth for the Highlanders but coach Jamie Joseph has admitted the national cupboard is bare of quality, experienced No 10s.
With both Colin Slade and Lima Sopoaga gone for the season, Chris Noakes is the only option at first five-eighth for the side as it prepares to take on the Rebels in Invercargill on Friday.
The Highlanders need a back-up first five-eighth and coach Jamie Joseph said yesterday he was looking round but there was not much to find at the moment.
"We've got to find someone but we are really struggling to get someone," Joseph said.
"We could look at playing Phil Burleigh there, as he has played there before, and he has been a real godsend for us. But there is nothing round."
Complicating the selection of the new No 10 is the Highlanders' short training week.
They returned from Australia late on Sunday and play again on Friday night, in Invercargill, against the Rebels.
Noakes is now the only specialist first five-eighth in the squad and he is somewhat injury-prone. He started the first game and missed the next two matches with an ankle injury.
Slade is still in Australia recovering from his broken leg and is not expected back in the country until the end of the week.
Sopoaga has damaged his shoulder, breaking his scapula, and will not be sighted for the rest of the season.
Hooker Andrew Hore also looks doubtful for Friday night, because of a calf strain and a cut around his eye.
Joseph said the injuries would be having an impact on the team.
"It is really disappointing for the team to see two of their key playmakers get hurt and have their season written off. But we can't dwell on it. We've got to get back into it this week."
On a more promising note, loose forward Adam Thomson trained yesterday, having missed the game against the Brumbies in Canberra last week because of a stiff neck.
He was running at training yesterday and should be available for the match against the Rebels.
Jarrad Hoeata may also come into calculations, after playing two games for the Highlanders development team in the past 10 days.
With Nick Crosswell out of the side because of a knee ligament strain picked up against the Brumbies, Hoeata would be a logical replacement to come into the starting team.
Hoeata has yet to play for the Highlanders this season, as he ripped his pectoral muscle off his chest before Christmas.
An All Black last year, the big lock has gone through a lengthy rehabilitation and will be itching to get out on the park.
If Thomson comes back into the starting side, English import James Haskell is likely to start the game on the openside flank.
The match in Invercargill is the only one to be played in the south this season. The Highlanders will travel to Invercargill tomorrow and return to Dunedin after the game on Friday night.
