Baby Bender: Highlanders showcase the new Ben Smith

Baby Bender, left, and the real Bender Ben Smith. Photo / Highlanders Facebook page

All Blacks great Ben Smith may be in the final weeks of his 11-year stint with the Highlanders but it looks like the South Island franchise already have a Smith clone in line to replace him.

The downside - the new Bender may be a few years ago from the professional level.

An unofficial Highlanders fan page posted a video on Facebook of a split screen comparing a young player from the Green Island rugby club in Dunedin and the All Blacks fullback.

The young player completes a runaway try with the very same celebration as Smith - by punching the ball out of his hands.

The Next Bender?

Have we found the next Ben Smith? Plays for Green Island too. @bensmith1100

Posted by MainLanders Rugby on Monday, May 13, 2019

Smith, who has played more than 150 games for the Highlanders, is playing his final season with the Highlanders before heading to France after the World Cup to play for Pau.

However there is a chance he may have played his last game for the franchise after being ruled out for six to eight weeks with a high hamstring injury last week.