With injuries to Lima Sopoaga and Colin Slade the number 10 jersey and kicking duties go to Chris Noakes who is currently sitting on a 100 percent goal kicking record having landed two conversions and five penalties.
Watch for the return of Adam Thomson to bolster the Highlanders' lineout which had its worst performance without him last week, dropping under 80 percent for the first time this season.
HURRICANES v CHEETAHS
The Canes lead five games to two in head to head clashes between these two teams, and the Cheetahs have never won in Wellington.
Last year the Hurricanes won a high-scoring affair 50-47 in Bloemfontein and they are one of just six sides to have scored four tries or more in a game so far this season, having done so twice.
The Cheetahs may only have one win from the five games they've played so far, but other than their huge loss to the Bulls in Round 2 they have managed a losing bonus point in their other three losses - including against the Crusaders last weekend.
Watch for Andre Taylor who is the leading linebreaker in the competition with six clean breaks to date. He has also scored three tries and is second equal for most tries scored with nine other players, including team mates Cory Jane and TJ Perenara.
Faifili Levave won three breakdown turnovers against the Blues last week, and his replacement Brad Shields won two. This week Shields starts in place of the injured Victor Vito, and their battle against the ball-pilfering star Heinrich Brussouw will be one to watch.
Cheetahs first five Johan Goosen is the top points scorer on 81, and has landed an impressive nineteen penalty goals so far this season - something the Hurricanes will want to watch when it comes to conceding penalties.
CHIEFS v WARATAHS
Head to head the Waratahs lead the ledger with ten wins in the sixteen games these two sides have played. Last year the Waratahs won 23-16 in Sydney, but in 2010 the Chiefs had a comfortable 46-19 win in Hamilton.
Richard Kahui will be playing his 50th Super game, and is back in his favoured position of centre.
Sona Taumololo was in outstanding form in the first four rounds, scoring three tries and is the only forward to make the top ten try scorers so far.
The Chiefs' lineout is the best of the New Zealand sides running at 85 percent, watch for Brodie Retallick and Craig Clarke jumping against Dean Mumm and Kane Douglas. Last week the Waratahs won all of their lineouts against the Sharks.
Keep an eye on the midfield match up of Sonny Bill Williams against Tom Carter. Carter made two line breaks against the Sharks last week and has scored three tries this season.
LIONS v CRUSADERS
There have been fifteen encounters between the two sides, with the Lions winning just four times.
The Crusaders last played the Lions in 2010, when they won in Christchurch 46-19 with Sean Maitland bagging two tries in the process.
Dan Carter will be making his first start of the season, having played forty minutes off the bench against the Cheetahs last week.
The Crusaders pack will be looking to get the better of the Lions in the scrum, with the Lions having conceded a tighthead to the Stormers last week while the Crusaders were dominant over the Cheetahs up until non-contested scrums were the order of the day from the 53rd minute of the game.
Don't expect a try fest in this game, with both sides averaging less than two tries per game to date.
