Blues v Hurricanes
Kick-off: 4:35pm Saturday 11 May
Eden Park, Auckland
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Way back in 1997, the All Black-laden Blues met the upstart Hurricanes at Eden Park in what turned out to be the most iconic Super 12 game of all time. The Blues prevailed 45-42 in front of a heaving 50,000-strong crowd, on their way to a second consecutive title, while the Canes cemented their identity as a side committed to getting the ball to their star players as quick and often as possible.
That match pitted the top two sides in the competition against one another and now, 27 years later, they'll meet again on the same field. In what could be a precursor to this year's final, both sides come in with nine-win, one-loss records.
Here's a look at the teams:
Blues: 15 Zarn Sullivan, 14 Mark Tele'a, 13 AJ Lam, 12 Bryce Heem, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Harry Plummer, 9 Taufa Funaki, 8 Hoskins Sotutu, 7 Dalton Papali'i, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 3 Marcel Renata, 2 Ricky Riccitelli, 1 Ofa Tu'ungafasi
Bench: 16 Kurt Eklund, 17 Joshua Fusitu'a, 18 Angus Ta'avao, 19 Josh Beehre, 20 Adrian Choat, 21 Sam Nock, 22 Corey Evans, 23 Cole Forbes
Hurricanes: 15 Ruben Love, 14 Josh Moorby, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Kini Naholo, 10 Brett Cameron, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Brayden Iose, 7 Peter Lakai, 6 Brad Shields (c), 5 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 4 Caleb Delany, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Kianu Kereru-Symes, 1 Xavier Numia
Bench: 16 Raymond Tuputupu, 17 Pouri Rakete-Stones, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Justin Sangster, 20 Devan Flanders, 21 Du'Plessis Kirifi, 22 Richard Judd, 23 Bailyn Sullivan
Blues selections
Hoskins Sotutu of the Blues. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Vern Cotter has named a powerful side, with the most notable selection seeing Zarn Sullivan go straight back into the starting side after a long injury break. They were still missing their first choice inside back combination and Rieko Ioane at centre, but in Finlay Christie's absence Taufa Funaki has quietly been one of the Blues' best in the last few rounds. Newly re-signed Hoskins was part of an all-All Black loose forward trio, who will have their work cut out for them.
Hurricanes selections
Brad Shields Photo: Grant Down / www.photosport.nz
Brad Shields comes back in to captain the side, while the Blues have test match experience in the loose it's hard not to think Peter Lakai and Brayden Iose will gain that status fairly soon. Ruben Love's body of work may put him in that category soon, while Bailyn Sullivan may end up going head-to-head with his brother when he comes off the bench. The one area the Blues may target is the lineout though, Kianu Kereru-Symes and Raymond Tuputupu's are the third and fourth choice hookers.
The last time they met
Hurricanes 29 - 21 Blues (round three)
While the Hurricanes certainly played well to record this win, it does deserve a bit of an asterisk next to it because the Blues dudded themselves thanks to a 6-2 bench split and two simultaneous injuries. It forced a reshuffle that saw Funaki have to play on the wing, which the Canes exploited ruthlessly to shoot out to a big lead. So far it's been the only time the Blues have tasted defeat this season, though.
Prediction
It's hard to not see this one being a tight affair, both teams are fully capable of scoring from anywhere but given what's on the line there may be a bit more kicking from the likes of Jordie Barrett. Ioane's absence is a big area for the Canes to target, while they will rely heavily on their powerful scrum to gain penalties, field position and points. Meanwhile the Blues will try and force as many lineouts as possible, likely through Zarn Sullivan's boot, to put pressure on what's been a wobbly area for the Canes.
The Blues are hoping for a good crowd at a family-friendly time and what's looking like a nice day, so that support too should lift them. But really, this is too close to call given how well these sides have shown they can play this season.