The Highlanders welcome back All Blacks Ben Smith, Aaron Smith and Luke Whitelock among others for Saturday’s quarter-final against the Waratahs in Sydney.
Rob Thompson and Ash Dixon also return at outside centre and replacement hooker respectively.
This is the fifth consecutive year the Highlanders have made the play-offs, finishing in sixth position at the end of the round robin stage. They are in the familiar position of being on the road having played only two play-off games at home since the inception of Super Rugby (1999 and 2015).
Coach Aaron Mauger is excited by the opportunity they have this weekend.
“These are the opportunities the guys work hard all year for and there are no second chances,” he said.
“It’s simply about putting our best performance on the field on Saturday. The Waratahs are a quality side playing at home which presents an awesome challenge for our guys, but like I said, these are the games we love to play.”
Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (cc), 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Rob Thompson, 12 Teihorangi Walden, 11 Tevita Li, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 James Lentjes, 6 Liam Squire, 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Jackson Hemopo, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Daniel Lienert-Brown
Replacements: 16 Ash Dixon (cc), 17 Aki Seiuli, 18 Kalolo Tuiloma, 19 Shannon Frizell, 20 Elliot Dixon, 21 Kayne Hammington, 22 Josh Ioane, 23 Matt Faddes
Date: Saturday, July 21
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Kick-off: 20:05 local (11:05 BST, 10:05 GMT)
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Will Houston (Australia)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)