Justin Marshall's Chalkboard: Centres battle to be Smith's successor

Charlie Ngatai (L) and Malakai Fekitoa (R). Photo / Getty Images.

The clash between the Highlanders and Chiefs in Invercargill tomorrow contains a battle within the battle that could have long-term ramifications for the All Blacks.

With the departure of Conrad Smith getting nearer by the day, Malakai Fekitoa and Charlie Ngatai have the opportunity to stake claims for the soon-to-be-vacated No 13 jersey. Smith's stranglehold on that position has been so encompassing, that there hasn't been the opportunity to blood anybody at 13 for any length of time.

Charlie Piutau might have been an option and they could flirt with the idea of shifting either Sonny Bill Williams or Ryan Crotty out one, but this would be a makeshift answer rather than a long-term solution. So too would be moving Ben Smith to centre. Fullback is clearly his best position, with wing not far behind.

That's why I believe Charlie Ngatai has to be firmly on the All Blacks' radar.

What Conrad Smith brings to the table is immense. He is the best defensive back in world rugby. He is intelligent, makes good decisions under pressure and is a superb distributor. With New Zealand constantly producing superb outsides, this is what you need at No 13. They rely on Conrad to deliver the ball to the likes of Julian Savea at the right time in the right places.

How does Fekitoa stack up against that? Well, he's a different sort of defender. He's a strong tackler and makes good reads, but he's still a little prone to rushing up and putting pressure on those beside him.

On attack he is a devastating runner who breaks tackles at will, but he needs to work on his distribution skills.

Ngatai, by comparison, is less damaging than Fekitoa, but he's a very well-balanced, composed player. He makes good decisions on attack and the Chiefs have come to rely on his distribution.

Defensively, he is more similar to Smith. he is certainly not regarded as a weak defender.

I see a bit of Aaron Smith in Ngatai. Before you think I've lost the plot, let me explain. I thought Aaron Smith was a pretty average sort of player, but the All Blacks recognised that he had a skillset that could help them and Smith blossomed in that environment. He almost instantly became twice the player he was before his international debut.

Ngatai might have a bit of that about him too. He has a skillset that I believe would play out very well at international level and it wouldn't take too many games with him in the black No 13 jersey before we had a totally different view of his work.

That all starts tomorrow night in Invercargill.