ANZ Cup Final: Preview

Wellington will take part in their fourth ANZ Cup final in five years when they meet Auckland on Saturday, live on SS2 from 7am.

Wellington and Auckland battle it out for top honour

Wellington will be contesting their fourth Air New Zealand Cup final in five years when they meet Auckland at Eden Park on Saturday. Having taken the Ranfurly Shield from Canterbury a fortnight ago, Auckland now have a chance to claim the other major provincial prize if they can beat the Lions. Wellington have performed well in recent weeks but Auckland have home advantage as well as an opportunity to create a little history. Not since the play-off format was introduced in 1992 has any side gone through the season unbeaten, and a win on Saturday will mean Auckland would have done just that. The Lions travel to play the tournament's top qualifier on the back of a spirited 26-21 semi-final victory over Canterbury, outlasting the red and blacks with a winning formula of cohesive attacking play and steadfast defence. Discarded World Cup scrum-half Piri Weepu will captain the side in the season finale in the place of skipper Tamati Ellison, who was ruled out during the week with a fractured eye socket sustained against Canterbury. Ellison's absence sees a reshuffle in the backline, where Ma'a Nonu switches from the right wing to fill the midfield role with Hosea Gear swopping benhc duties for the number fourteen jersey. In two other changes, returned World Cup All Blacks Rodney So'oialo and Conrad Smith are all set to start from the bench. Meanwhile, Auckland have also named two World Cup All Blacks in their line-up, with hooker Keven Mealamu and utility back Isaia Toeava on the bench.

Unbeaten

The unbeaten Aucklanders return to their home ground for the final, where they beat Hawke's Bay 38-3 last week in persistent rain, after defeating Taranaki in their quarter-final the previous week. Auckland and Wellington play each other on Saturday for the first time in the 2007 Air New Zealand Cup, their last meeting being last year's semi-final won 30-15 by the Lions. Wellington did however beat Auckland 44-21 when they met in a pre-season fixture in July. Wellington will be searching for their fitth National Provincial Championship title since the competition's inception in 1976, previously winning in 1978, 1981, 1986 and 2000. They have also finished runners-up to Auckland on four occasions, finishing joint second with Canterbury in 1985, outright second in 1987 and beaten finalists in 1999 and 2003. As well being the fourth final appearance in five years for the Lions, Saturday's title decider will also be their sixth in the last nine years and their third against Auckland. They will hope to make it third time lucky in 2007 after previous final losses to Auckland in 1999 at Eden Park (18-24) and in 2003 in Wellington (29-41). The two sides have previously met twice at Eden Park in semi-finals, Wellington prevailing last year and in 2000 with a 48-23 win en route to beating Canterbury in the final.

Confident

Left wing Shannon Paku, who has won NPC finals with both Wellington (2000) and Auckland (2003), says the team is confident they can topple their old rivals again on Saturday. "We've been training really well over the last few weeks so it's pretty much just carrying on from there, said Paku. "The good thing is we know what we want to do and so we can just focus on our game." Paku, who has scored seven tries heading into the final, praises the big-hearted efforts of the Lions forwards for much of their success this year. "They are just fronting up week in and week out, they are just hitting the rucks and that's all you can ask of your forwards," he said. Auckland: 15 Brent Ward, 14 David Smith, 13 Ben Atiga, 12 Sam Tuitupou (c), 11 Benson Stanley, 10 Isa Nacewa, 9 Taniela Moa, 8 Brad Mika, 7 Daniel Braid, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Jay Williams, 4 Kurtis Haiu, 3 John Afoa, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Saimone Taumoepeau.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Nick White, 18 Troy Flavell, 19 Angus Macdonald, 20 Grayson Hart, 21 Lachie Munro, 22 Isaia Toeava.
Wellington: 15 Cory Jane, 14 Hosea Gear, 13 Tane Tu'ipulotu, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Shannon Paku, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Piri Weepu (c), 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Tom Harding, 6 Api Naikatini, 5 Bernie Upton, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 John Schwalger, 2 Luke Mahoney, 1 Jacob Ellison.
Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Anthony Perenise, 18 Fafili Levave, 19 Rodney So'oialo, 20 Alex Tulou, 21 Alby Mathewson, 22 Conrad Smith.