Rugby: Liam Squire expected to return to Highlanders in 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season

The former Highlanders and All Black, loose forward Liam Squire, looks set to return for the southern franchise.

Squire is believed to be signing with the Highlanders for next season and will be named to the team when it launches tomorrow morning.

The sturdy forward left the franchise after the 2019 season having played 33 games for the Highlanders in four seasons. He only played three games for the Highlanders in the 2019 season due to injuries and was then unavailable.

He left for Japan in late 2019, but injury re-engaged him and his two-year contract with NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes ended early.

The 29-year-old is believed to be back in the South and hopes to return to the field after an extended break to repair some injuries.

The Highlanders’ side for the 2021 season is likely to have just under a dozen newcomers, many of them already named.

Jermaine Ainsley, a former Otago Boys’ High School mainstay, will join along with wing Billy Harmon, forward Kazuki Himeno, center Fetuli Paea and winger Solomon Alaimalo.

The Highlanders will look to move on with some players. Mainstay Josh Iosefa-Scott was signed for two years after impressing for Waikato in 2018. But he has played one game in two seasons and is unlikely to return.

Other forwards likely to be on the outside are loose forwards Zane Kapeli and Sione Misiloi, neither of whom took the field last year.

Lock Jack Whetton signed for the Waratahs last week while Jesse Parete plays for Canon in Japan. Dillon Hunt moves home and has signed with the Blues.

Bryn Gatland has signed for the Chiefs, while Rob Thompson has signed with Toyota Verblitz in Japan. Tei Walden tore his Achilles tendon when playing for Taranaki against Otago in the 10 Miter Cup, but he wasn’t ready to return anyway.

The extremes of Manukau, Tevita Nabura and Kirisi Kuridrani counties are unlikely to return, and whether Connor Garden-Bachop will return is up in the air. He missed the entire season this year due to a back injury and was well below Wellington’s pecking order.

Josh McKay is also believed to be unloved by the Highlanders and will seek a contract elsewhere.

Former All Black Nehe Milner-Skudder signed a two-year deal with the Highlanders during the lockout period, but did not play any games at Super Rugby Aotearoa because he was out of shape.

He played a full role for Manawatu, including the team captain in the provincial competition, but fell far short of the form that elevated him to the All Blacks in 2015.