KEY POINTS:
There is not much difference in their physical statistics. Jerome Kaino is younger at 25 and slightly taller at 1.96m than Jerry Collins but both blindside flankers pack a similar Super 14 wallop.
But when it comes to test matches - to All Black duty - the Wellingtonian
Collins, 27, is several streets ahead of his younger rival. He has played 50 times for the All Blacks, including 48 tests, while Kaino has played two tests in three appearances in the black jersey.
How much thump Collins has been making this season has been questioned by former All Black captain Todd Blackadder, while Collins' ability to answer on the field has been halted for the past three games because of a rib injury.
But he returns tonight for the cut-throat meeting between the Hurricanes and Blues, in a game with loaded with heavy consequences and the connotations of an All Black trial.
The result will have semifinal repercussions but within that framework there are the intriguing meaty subplots such as the match up between Collins and Kaino.
"Oh mate, the names of the Hurricanes just speak for themselves," Kaino said.
"We have to be top-shelf if we are to compete with those guys."
Kaino has some gloomy memories of the 2005 Eden Park clash with the Hurricanes - their first Super 12 win against the Blues - when there was a great deal of hype about his confrontation with Collins.
"I had been away with the All Blacks the previous year and it was Tana's 100th game and Jerry was all over me in that game," he recalled.
"Then last year we did not play well either and we have got some making up to do.
"We played with our bodies and left our brains on the sidelines. They played smart and we were our own worst enemies."
Meanwhile Collins is grizzly. He has been irritated about suggestions he may seek an early release to play overseas and the merits of his being granted that discharge.
He has been annoyed that some like Blackadder believe the Crusaders' blindside tyro, Kieran Read, deserves to have the All Black spot ahead of him.
He has been exasperated that injury has curtailed his season. But he is returning tonight to restore the looseforward formation with Rodney So'oialo and Chris Masoe which has been such a formidable Super 14 influence for the Hurricanes.
While Scott Waldrom offered a different dimension with his speed and pace to the breakdown, Collins' return was a no-brainer for coach Colin Cooper once the blindsider declared himself fit.
Experience, combination, skill under pressure, defence - there was a catalogue of compelling reasons to start with the familiar looseforward trio who would face an equally united Blues arrangement.
Nick Williams, Kaino and Daniel Braid have been the go-to combination once Braid returned after shoulder surgery while Justin Collins, like Waldrom, was the ideal back up.
While a number of classy looseforwards have quit New Zealand rugby, it is one area where the national game is blessed with an oversupply of talent. Just take the choices at blindside.
Collins, Reuben Thorne and Masoe are three from the World Cup squad who are still operating while Kaino, Read, Liam Messam, Sione Lauaki, Adam Thomson and Hoani MacDonald are others who have pushed their claims in the No 6 jersey.
Kaino was one of the original "projects" for the current All Black panel.
He and Luke McAlister were the two young 'uns taken on the 2004 end-of-year tour to Europe to be blooded into the All Black environment as an investment for last year's World Cup. That was the thinking - it was worth a punt.
While McAlister did not play on tour because of a dodgy hamstring, he did shoot ahead in his All Black career before he shot through for a contract with the English club Sale after 22 tests.
In the meantime, Kaino battled through ankle and knee problems and a shoulder operation before he was picked for twin domestic tests against Ireland in 2006 and then vanished. Coach Graham Henry admitted the looseforward was not fit enough, his selection had been premature.
Since then, no redress. He played every game for the Blues last year where he was used mostly at No 8 in the Super 14, but could not win promotion out of the Junior All Blacks.
He has played every match again this year but at blindside flanker while Nick Williams has taken the brunt of the work at No 8.
Kaino is an athlete, someone who has been used as a ball-carrier for the Blues, has shown more sting in his defence and is a very useful lineout option. His ability to cover blindside and No 8 must have brought him into the All Black frame again though tonight's performance under pressure will be critical if he is to get a recall.
Of the other contenders, Thorne is heading offshore, Lauaki has been sluggish, Masoe strong when picked there and Read is on the rise.
"I just want to get my hands on the ball more," said Kaino. "I am happy at blindside now but ultimately I want to be a No 8 because that is where I played most of my age-group rugby.
"But it's all about this game now. We have to have our attitude right because that blip in the middle put our season in jeopardy. We have to get our work rate up.
"Like anyone I want to play for the All Blacks again. That is my ultimate goal and what better way to compare yourself against what the very best players do. I always try and measure myself against what the Crusaders and Hurricanes looseforwards achieve because they are top quality."
