Hurricanes bad boys back for Highlanders rematch

Wellington (AFP) - The Wellington Hurricanes have their five suspended stars back for Friday's rematch of last season's Super Rugby final against the Highlanders, as players look for a final boost to their Test credentials.

The curfew-breaking bad boys all return, which means a start for Julian Savea on the wing with the incumbent All Black in need of a strong performance after indifferent form this year.

The NSW Waratahs, with a tenuous lead in the Australian conference, face championship leaders Waikato Chiefs while rival Africa conference leaders the Northern Bulls and Golden Lions go head-to-head in Pretoria this weekend.

It is the final round of clashes before the June Test window in which South Africa will host Ireland, England tour Australia, New Zealand welcome Wales, Argentina face Tests against Italy and France and Scotland will travel to Japan.

The last time the Hurricanes hosted the Otago Highlanders in Wellington was last year's grand final won by the Highlanders 21-14 who backed up that performance in round two this year with a narrow 17-16 win in Dunedin.

There is a lot at stake for playmakers Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes) and Lima Sopoaga (Highlanders) who go into the clash probably ranked second and third behind the Chiefs' Aaron Cruden as the next All Blacks fly-half.

"This was a very tough team to select," Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd said.

"Nobody is under any illusion that this is an important match for both teams."

The Highlanders have beaten the top two sides, the Chiefs and Canterbury Crusaders, in their last two outings and return to Wellington with nine from the starting line-up in last year's memorable final.

While the Hurricanes have labelled the clash a "rematch", Highlanders assistant coach Scott McLeod said the southerners were not buying into that.

"We've not talked about the final. And so it shouldn't be as we are sixth and seventh. If we were both top of the table then maybe it would be talked about," he said.

The Chiefs, just one point ahead of the Crusaders, head to Sydney where the Waratahs are just one point ahead of the ACT Brumbies in the Australian conference.

- Lions warning -

The Waratahs have made four changes to the side beaten last week by the Crusaders, notably injecting Wycliff Palu into the pack and promoting former All Black Zac Guildford to the run-on side.

Israel Folau continues to find his feet at outside centre, providing an interesting match-up with the Chiefs Seta Tamanivalu who is in the running for the All Blacks 13 jersey.

The Lions, who are the only side guaranteed to be top of their group when action resumes in July, may be without the injured Elton Jantjies, but Bulls coach Nollis Marais warned his side not to get over-confident.

"That team doesn't rely on just one person, they are a good team all over," Marais said.

The Bulls need to retain their unbeaten home record this year to stay on top of their conference where they are ahead on points differential against the Western Stormers who have an easier task against the Central Cheetahs.

"We made a decision at the beginning of the season, if we play at Loftus then we need to be up for it. There are no excuses," Marais said.

Should the Lions lose they will remain top of Africa 2 conference as the second-placed Coastal Sharks have the weekend off and the next best team are Argentina's Jaguares who are a further 22 points adrift.

The Crusaders, who slipped from the top of the championship when they missed a bonus point against the Waratahs, play the worst performing New Zealand team Auckland Blues.

The ACT Brumbies, ready to pounce in the Australia group if the Waratahs slip up, play the lowly Sunwolves from Japan, the Southern Kings are against the Jaguares and in an Australian derby the Melbourne Rebels host the Western Force.