Discarded All Black benched by Waikato
Discarded All Black Stephen Donald is one of several Super Rugby players that will appear on the Waikato bench when they play Taranaki in their final pre-season encounter at Albert Park, Te Awamutu, on Wednesday.
Donald's dream of making New Zealand's World Cup squad appeared over recently after he was omitted from the All Blacks pre-season training camps.
However, he will get a few chances to redeem himself in New Zealand national provincial championships in the coming weeks.
Donald - along with players like Aled de Malmanche, Ben May, Toby Smith and Romana Graham - appear on a very powerful Waikato bench for Wednesday's outing.
Waikato: 15 Tim Mikkelson, 14 Frank Halai, 13 Save Tokula, 12 Jackson Willison, 11 Declan O'Donnell, 10 Trent Renata, 9 Malcolm Barnes, 8 Alex Bradley, 7 Marty Holah, 6 Matt Vant Leven, 5 Chris Middleton, 4 Toby Lynn, 3 Nathan White (captain), 2 Marcel Cummings-Toone, 1 Ted Tauroa.
Replacements - from: Aled de Malmanche, Ben May, Toby Smith, Zak Hohneck, Rory Grice, Romana Graham, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Stephen Donald, Sam Christie, Rena Schuster.
Date: Wednesday, July 6
Venue: Albert Park, Te Awamutu
Kick-off: 16.00 (04.00 GMT)
Referee: Shane McDermott