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Canterbury's Telusa Veainu - Source: Photosport
Canterbury v Waikato; 7:35pm in Christchurch
Last clash: Waikato beat Canterbury 26-6 in Hamilton (Round 13, 2010)
TAB: Canterbury $1.40, Waikato $2.80
Same ol' Canterbury but a little bit different
By Randall Munro
It's a strange time in Canterbury rugby. Sure they're in the familiar surroundings of yet another national provincial final but they've got there in an unconventional manner.
Perhaps it was the quake that shook up their ideals but this season the Red and Blacks have moved away from their tactically astute percentage game plan and towards a Barbarian-esque, sideline to sideline approach.
But by and large it's worked. Except for a fortnight ago against tonight's opposition, Waikato, who served up some ol' school Cantabrian medicine with great success.
So will Rob Penney's boys revert to their tactics of old or keep slinging the ball to Robbie Fruean, Sean Maitland and Telusa Veainu in search of their third title in a row?
The only selection we have with which to read into Penney's mindset is the return of captain George Whitelock. The one-Test opensider has had his Canterbury jersey usurped by the turnover merchant Matt Todd; and so Whitelock finds himself making do on the blindside.
So with two specialist opensides selected and no room on the bench for a lock (Rob Verbakel missing out loose forwards Ash Parker and Brendon O'Connor) then what is obvious is Penney has mustered the cattle to compliment his frenzied backline.
With the game plan there for all to see the only thing that is required to carry it off is the execution and self-belief.
This Canterbury mob has been there and done that. Not only do they have three All Blacks in the forwards and another, Colin Slade, steering the ship from first five but they have a host of provincial champions and game-breakers who create a match-day 22 brimming with confidence.
If that experience is to get the better of Waikato's granite resilience then you can be sure Canterbury will pick up their eighth championship with their new break-neck style.
Canterbury: Sean Maitland, Tu Umaga-Marshall, Robbie Fruean, Telusa Veainu, Colin Slade, Willi Heinz; Nasi Manu, Matt Todd, George Whitelock (captain), Isaac Ross, Luke Romano, Peter Borlase, Steve Fualau, Wyatt Crockett
Reserves: Paul Ngauamo, Andrew Olorenshaw, Ash Parker, Brendon O'Connor, Takerei Norton, Stephen Brett, Sam Monaghan
Mooloo men on the front foot
By Chris Matthews
The Mooloo men should hold no fears in Christchurch tonight. They may be playing in their first provincial final since 2006 but they know how to beat Canterbury and beat them well.
After all, it was just two weeks ago they exposed this Red and Black vintage for what it is. On the back of a dominant scrum and a determined defence line, Canterbury backpedaled to a limp Hamilton defeat.
Last week things hardly got better for Rob Penney's men. Sure they scored six tries against a disinterested Lions' defence but the same problems were there for all to see: their line-out was shambolic, scrum again under pressure and restarts a disaster.
Its Waikato's attention to this simple detail, along with their mental fortitude that will see them prevail tonight. Their set-piece excellence has been far and away the best in the ITM Cup all season but most importantly, they never, ever, give in.
Three times this season, twice against Auckland and once in Palmerston North, they have scored tries after the 80th minute to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Only champion sides have the composure to close out results they have no right to win and this Waikato side has this quality in spades.
Crucially too is the rise and rise of their young inside back pairing. Trent Renata and Tawera Kerr-Barlow can no longer be seen as a weak link in the Mooloo line-up, and Brendon Leonard's return to the bench is testament to that fact.
Out wider, the blockbusting Save Toukla has been a revelation this season and his clash with equally damaging Robbie Fruean will be a highlight to savoir but at the end of the day, Waikato have this battle won upfront.
The final tonight won't follow the path of the semifinal clashes that saw a mind boggling 19 tries scored. Finals, even in this frivolous age, rarely are open encounters and it will be the side that can gain an upper hand at the collision area and set-piece that will walk away with the spoils.
And if the Mooloo men follow the simple blueprint of 14 days ago, that exposed the weak Canterbury underbelly, ITM Cup glory will be all theirs.
Waikato: Sosene Anesi, Henry Speight, Save Tokula, Jackson Willison, Dwayne Sweeney, Trent Renata, Tawera Kerr-Barlow; Alex Bradley, Jack Lam, Dominiko Waqaniburotu, Romana Graham, Toby Lynn, Nathan White (captain), Aled de Malmanche, Toby Smith
Reserves: Hikairo Forbes, Ben May, Kent Fife, Zak Hohneck, Brendon Leonard, Christian Lealiifano, Tim Mikkelson
