Blues v Brumbies
Eden Park, 7.35 tonight
John Afoa and Ben Alexander both carry "test prop in waiting" reputations. At times they shed that label, but also manage to raise some confusion about their true calibre.
Both claim significant test caps and square off tonight as the Brumbies visit Eden Park to tangle with the Blues, who
will be riding the emotional charge of captain Keven Mealamu becoming the first player to reach 100 games for the team. Mealamu's feat is a great reward for the hooker shipped off to the Chiefs in 2002, but who returned to forge a strong All Blacks reputation and outlast other long-term colleagues such as Doug Howlett and Carlos Spencer.
Mealamu will be centre and front for the duel between Afoa and Alexander, who both carry hopes they will blossom to be their nation's best. So far their journeys have stuttered.
Both have few issues with the athletic side of their game: they carry the ball strongly in open play and defend with snap and precision. They scrum effectively but there have been questions about their ability to duke it out at the crest of that portfolio. There have been encouraging reports from across the Ditch about Alexander, who shifted from loosehead to tighthead, where he made a strong impression for the Wallabies. For the Brumbies, though, he works in the No1 jersey
After a bye round for the Blues, Afoa returned to work this week primed for the Eden Park challenge from the Brumbies. His excitement hit a speed bump on the first day back when he tweaked his back.
He recalls the Brumbies giving the Blues a hurry-up in the pack last season, but rates himself and his teammates ready for that tonight.
"They put us under a bit of pressure and we want to get that sorted for this game," he said. Afoa said Alexander was a big bloke who had improved his scrum technique a great deal in a few years.
"If you don't get him right straight away, he will come at you. He is good with the ball, too, and that is the way the game is evolving."
He said the Brumbies had recruited strongly, gaining Rocky Elsom and Matt Giteau, and were starting to play as they had a few years ago.
"They play fast and try to shift you around so we have to make sure we meet them up front in the setpiece and match them so we can play our game," Afoa said. "Those basics were not so good against the Crusaders last week, so we have to get that sorted."
BLUES v BRUMBIES
Blues
Isaia Toeava
Joe Rokocoko
Rene Ranger
Benson Stanley
Rudi Wulf
Stephen Brett
Alby Mathewson
Viliami Ma'afu
Serge Lilo
Jerome Kaino
Anthony Boric
Kurtis Haiu
John Afoa
Keven Mealamu (c)
Tony Woodcock
Blues reserves: Tom McCartney, Charlie Faumuina, Filo Paulo, Peter Saili, Chris Smylie, Daniel Kirkpatrick, Paul Williams
Brumbies
Adam Ashley-Cooper
Pat McCabe
Tyrone Smith
Christian Lealiifano
Francis Fainifo
Matt Giteau
Josh Valentine
Stephen Hoiles (c)
George Smith
Rocky Elsom
Mark Chisholm
Ben Hand
Salesi Ma'afu
Stephen Moore
Ben Alexander
Brumbies reserves (one to be named): Huia Edmonds, Guy Shepherdson, Justin Harrison, Mitchell Chapman, Patrick Phibbs, Matt Toomua.