KEY POINTS:
If anyone is qualified to speak about the challenges of facing Taranaki, it's Auckland hooker Tom McCartney.
The 22-year-old Howick College product has already faced today's national championship quarter-final opponent twice - once in round two in a Ranfurly Shield defence with North Harbour; then again in round
five in his first start for Auckland after being recalled from a loan spell across the bridge.
"It has been a bit of a rollercoaster, but an enjoyable one," McCartney said of a season which began with a switch to Harbour designed to get him some game time and could end with a Shield and championship double with Auckland.
It would be a bit churlish to suggest he got out from an unravelling Harbour at the right time.
But there's no doubting his star has risen further at Auckland than it would have had he remained across the bridge.
The idea for him to go to Harbour in the first place had come from the Blues management.
As a member of the Blues' wider training group, McCartney had shown substantial promise, but was untested and unlikely to get much of a chance to show his wares at Auckland.
"With Derren Witcombe at Auckland I probably wasn't going to get a lot of game time. It was a hard choice to make, but looking back I'm glad I did it. I'm also glad to be back at Auckland."
Before Witcombe's career-ending neck injury, Auckland's back-up hooking duties had been performed by Lance Po-Ching.
McCartney had no idea where he would fit in the pecking order when he rejoined the side mid-season but after one game on the bench he was elevated to the starting role and hasn't been out of the side since.
"All you can really do is train as hard as you can and hopefully the coach will reward you and pick you," he said.
That's not just talk, either. McCartney's full-on attitude to training quickly saw him tagged as a bit of a freak by his teammates.
Last weekend's shield victory rated as the "biggest game of my life", but McCartney is aware a defeat by Taranaki tonight would tarnish his most precious rugby memory.
The TAB's odds suggest the match will be a walkover but that hasn't been the case either time McCartney has faced Taranaki this season, with Harbour's desperate 19-13 shield victory followed by Auckland's patchy 22-13 effort three weeks later.
"They've been fairly tough both times," he said.
"They've got a big forward pack but they've got a bit of speed out wide as well, so they've been spinning the ball a bit wider this year rather than just playing an eight-man game.
"But we have gone through the round robin really well and we owe it to ourselves to put in a good performance [tonight]."
Taranaki coach Kieran Crowley is billing the contest as the fancy pants city boys against the down home country boys.
"It's the glamour team against the hard workers," he said.
"They've been playing outstanding. I thought their game against Canterbury - they were just so physical - they were outstanding.
"All we can hope for is having a fair crack as far as on the field stuff goes - the bounce of the ball, the ref's decisions.
"But you've got to go in there believing they're beatable."
* In today's other match, Canterbury have made just one change to the side that lost the Ranfurly Shield, with lock Isaac Ross coming in for Kevin O'Neill.
Otago will be without skipper Craig Newby, whose foot injury has persisted.
Callum Bruce will start at second five-eighths with Chris Noakes at first five-eighths for just his fifth cup match.
* Waikato have named an unchanged starting line-up for tomorrow's match against Hawkes Bay in Napier.
The Magpies are without star halfback Danny Lee, who broke his ankle last week against Manawatu.
