but he was a force against the hurricanes as he steered the highlanders to a 32-13 lead.
he set up the highlanders' first two tries, played a role in their third and scored and three penalties.
the third penalty ,
early in the second half ,
came a minute after he defied his injury reputation and walked away from an horrific collision in which he took a blow to the face when contesting a high ball with matt proctor.
after an early penalty exchange in which beauden barrett had the hurricanes ahead 6-3 ,
slade launched the try -scoring blitz when he elected to run the highlanders out of defensive trouble.
he beat three before off-loading to hosea gear in a move which finished with mose tuiali'i scoring at the other end of the field.