Rugby: Top-two face-off offers plenty to interest selectors

Hawke’s Bay winger Zac Guildford leads the Air NZ Cup tryscoring list with 12. Photo / Getty Images

With an All Black touring squad imminent, the clash between No's 1 and 2 in Napier tomorrow night to kick off the penultimate championship round should carry an extra degree of fascination.

Defending champions Canterbury lost their opening Air New Zealand Cup match 22-19 to North Harbour on August 1, but have been unstoppable since.

Just to make life more difficult for Hawkes Bay, Canterbury have rolled out the heavy mob for the McLean Park clash.

All Black captain Richie McCaw starts at No 8, after coming off the bench last week for fellow international Kieran Read, who is ruled out by a blow to the head in the big win over Manawatu; Dan Carter eases back in at first five-eighths, also from being a substitute with Stephen Brett sidelined by a back strain; and test lock Isaac Ross plays his first game of the season for Canterbury.

Hawkes Bay, on a five-game winning tear of their own, are seven points adrift in second and one ahead of Wellington.

And while the selectors may take the view that the cup is lower on their viewing priority for assessing players' worth than the Super 14, this is one game they may take special interest in.

Hawkes Bay's boom left wing Zac Guildford, top of the tryscoring list with 12, goes up against Canterbury's strong-running Sean Maitland, no slouch himself.

No 8 Thomas Waldrom hasn't been called up yet and is unlikely to be, but equally he won't do himself any harm if he barrels around the park to good effect against the All Black captain.

A third hooking spot could be between Hika Elliott and Corey Flynn, both former All Blacks. Canterbury second five-eighths Tim Bateman has been close in the past; captain and flanker George Whitelock made it this year and is still in selectors' sights.

North Harbour are facing a backline rejig for the trip to Wellington on Saturday.

Compounding Luke McAlister's ankle injury at training on Monday - he has an MRI scan today with fears of ligament damage - centre George Pisi is a serious doubt after badly damaging a shoulder in the win over Bay of Plenty last Saturday.

Andrew Mailei returns from a two-week ban, so that should take care of second five-eighths.

From there, coaches Craig Dowd and Jeff Wilson need to peruse their options.

Former All Black wing Rudi Wulf might be the best stop-gap centre. He's no stranger to the position and is in good form.