Super Rugby final: Dangermen

Sean Fitzpatrick, Michael Lynagh and Thinus Delport pick the dangermen to look out for in Saturday's Super Rugby final.

The 2015 Super Rugby final is upon us as the Hurricanes and the Highlanders both seek their maiden Super Rugby title.

The Hurricanes have been sublime, and lost just twice in the regular season as they swept all before them. The Highlanders have been one of the success stories of Super Rugby, having been out of the wilderness in recent years but now one of the deserving finalists. 

Who helped them get here? Sean Fitzpatrick, Michael Lynagh and Thinus Delport pick their top players to look out for in Saturday's big showdown.

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Sean Fitzpatrick

Highlanders: Waisake Naholo

Waisake Naholo is a great story and it’s based around what the whole Highlanders’ philosophy has been about: if you turn up and deliver we will play you. He left the Blues because he couldn’t get a game, went down to the Highlanders and initially couldn’t get a game there either. Suddenly they had a few injuries and Naholo came in and has set the world on fire.

I think he could be quite a sensation actually. He reminds me of Sitivei Sivivatu in the way he plays. He is fit and energetic which makes him useful in open play but his finishing is truly phenomenal.

Being put in an All Black environment means he will have the opportunity to just set the world on fire. There’s a vacancy in the right wing berth because nobody has really stuck their hand up so he is coming up at the right time.

Naholo has benefitted from the hard work of the other outside backs but also the set piece intelligence from Aaron Smith. Lima Sopoaga and Smith are creating opportunities and that’s what the Highlanders have done so well all season, create space.

Hurricanes: Ma'a Nonu

He’s come of age as a Super Rugby player believe it or not! You’d never have questioned his commitment to the All Blacks - year in year out he’s probably been one of the best performing All Blacks - but he’s not done that at Super Rugby level in the past. That’s all changed this season and he’s been one of the players to watch of the tournament.

He’s appears to have matured and come of age as a person, and I think that shows in the way he’s playing, and in his commitment and leadership on and off the field.

He typifies what the All Black ethos and the Hurricane ethos is all about now, in that he is always aiming to better his all-round game. He was given tasks to improve his ball skills and his kicking game, and true to his character he went out and made the changes.

Will Greenwood said a while back that Nonu was the best inside centre in world rugby. I said I didn’t agree with him at the time as I didn’t feel he was quite the real deal, but right now he seems to be.

Michael Lynagh

Hurricanes: Nehe Milner-Skudder

It's been an amazing season for Nehe Milner-Skudder. He went from being a fairly unknown prospect to a man that an entire team will watch when he has ball in hand – in the space of a few months. He's a real danger.

Earlier this year the casual rugby fan may not have known much about him, but in one season he has put himself right among the All Black selection headaches.

If the Highlanders kick poorly to him he will make them pay because he beats people with speed and footwork, which is exactly what will break a line of defenders pressing after a kick. The key with Milner-Skudder is that if you give him space he will punish you, but even if you close him down as a team he's almost impossible to stop one-on-one.

The Hurricanes have plenty of attacking threats in the form of Smith, Nonu and Savea, and Milner-Skudder adds to that by ensuring that each defender has one eye on him. He's got the whole catalogue.

Highlanders: Ben Smith

Ben Smith is an outstanding player. In their semi-final the Highlanders employed a more pragmatic approach to the game and kicked to keep the Waratahs deep in their own half, so we didn't see vintage Smith but I'm sure we will on Saturday.

He is such a dangerous runner who invariably beats the first defender. He's not the biggest guy on the field but he's deceptive and quick.

He and his outside back partners play together brilliantly to ensure that the attacking opportunities out wide are taken, which stretches defences and creates more gaps down the middle for strike runners like Malakai Fekitoa.

You've already got such good decision makers in the Highlanders with Aaron Smith and Lima Sopoaga running the show but to have someone at the back making sensible decisions about when to kick and when to run makes an enormous difference to a team's ability to not be pinned down in a territorial game when the other side is kicking deep.

Add to that the fact that he often will beat defenders when he chooses to counterattack and it makes for an invaluable edition to have at the back.

Thinus Delport

Highlanders: Patrick Osborne

I like the way Patrick Osborne plays; he's got great pace for a big man and he finishes effectively whenever give then chance. He's been slightly in the shadow of Waisake Naholo but he's no stranger to the tryline, and has shown superb work ethic in ensuring he covers the other wing where needed.

He links up brilliantly with Ben Smith and Naholo, so if TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett decide to kick the ball on Saturday they will need to do so effectively, otherwise they will be punished throughout the 80 minutes.

Osborne has benefitted where defensive structures of the opposition have been focused on the likes of Ben Smith or Naholo, but when the opportunities and gaps arrive due to that fact, you still have to be able to get the ball over the line, and Osborne has punished teams over and over again.

Given the right amount of space he really is lethal and will cause all sorts of problems for the Hurricanes on the day.

Hurricanes: Julian Savea

Julian Savea is probably the Hurricanes' most potent threat when it comes to scoring tries. He’s also got a very high work rate and skill set to go with it too. What he does well is go off the wing and look for work. As soon as the first line of defence has been broken teams become dangerous, and that is precisely the attacking opportunity that a player such as Savea affords his side.

His strength is quite literally his strength, with plenty of yards being made with each carry, and often more than one defender required in order to bring him down which always creates space elsewhere.

Any winger is only as good as the space that's created for him, so there will be a lot of pressure on the likes of Nonu and Conrad Smith to present him with the gaps, but they've been doing a pretty good job of it throughout the season and I don't see Saturday being any different.

He's comfortable under the high ball and will counter attack too, so just as Perenara and Barrett have to be effective with their kicking, so will Aaron Smith and Lima Sopoaga – both of whom have kicked more this season.

Savea has been compared with the great Jonah Lomu and it’s a debate that will rage on, and I’d say the comparison is warranted; Savea is as close to the complete modern winger as you can get.

Watch the Super Rugby final between Hurricanes and Highlanders live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Saturday morning at 8am BST.