Highlanders confirm 16 players to leave as they close in on Taranaki flyer Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens

The southerners announced the departures of no fewer than 16 players on Wednesday, including No 10 Mitch Hunt and their three hookers, as the winds of change blow through Dunedin.

Outside backs Vilimoni Koroi and Mosese Dawai are also heading towards the exit door, but the Highlanders appear to have replacements lined up.

understands that Taranaki flyer Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens is firmly in the Highlanders sights and is poised to shift south from the Blues, where his game time has been limited over recent years.

Another outside back will also join the Highlanders alongside join Jona Nareki, Jonah Lowe, Connor Garden-Bachop, Sam Gilbert and Martin Bogado, who remain on contract.

The departure of Hunt after four seasons – Marty Banks and Freddie Burns are also departing – is significant as it signals a changing of the guard in the playmaking position.

The Highlanders already have youngster Cam Millar on their books, but will again look for an experienced No 10 to guide Millar through the formative years of his career.

Gaps also exist at lock, loose forward and the midfield, where the Highlanders were unsuccessful in their attempts to land both Levi Aumua, who has joined the Crusaders, and Matt Proctor, the former Hurricanes midfielder who has signed for the Melbourne Rebels.

In each of these positions the Highlanders are looking for an experienced operator to complement their younger players, as they had already announced the signings of midfielder Jake Te Hiwi and loose forwards Oliver Haig and Hayden Michaels.

The Highlanders have also retained some older heads such as hard-working loose forward Hugh Renton – one of the standouts of the Super Rugby Pacific campaign – and props Daniel Lienert-Brown and Ayden Johnstone.

Ethan de Groot, Jermaine Ainsley, Saula Ma’u and Luca Inch will complete the six-strong group of props for 2024.

Locks Pari Pari Parkinson, Fabian Holland and Will Tucker are also returning, as is No 6/lock Max Hicks, but that quartet will need another body to cope with the inevitable injuries.

A hardened experienced hooker is also on the wish list. The original plan had been to retain one of Andrew Makalio, Rhys Marshall or Leni Apisai, but none of those players had strong enough seasons to warrant a new contract.

The Highlanders will take their time to assess options at hooker and in the midfield, with the need to scour overseas markets showing that the player market is tight, and intensely competitive in New Zealand.

Australian clubs such as the Rebels and Brumbies have also shown an appetite for New Zealand players, and the five New Zealand clubs have already locked up most of their rosters even before the NPC starts.

The Highlanders are losing plenty of experience in 2024, with Aaron Smith, Shannon Frizell, Josh Dickson and Marino Mikaele-Tu’u all heading to Japan.

They will leave big shoes to fill, but the high turnover also gives the Highlanders the chance to turn the page on 2023 and back a group of younger players who have represented New Zealand at under-20 level in recent years.

AT A GLANCE

Highlanders’ departing players: Aaron Smith, Andrew Makalio, Fetuli Paea, Freddie Burns, Jeff Thwaites, Josh Dickson, Leni Apisai, Marino Mikaele-Tu’u, Marty Banks, Mosese Dawai, Rhys Marshall, Scott Gregory, Shannon Frizell, Vilimoni Koroi, Mitch Hunt, James Lentjes.