KEY POINTS:
A new-look Brendon Leonard gets a chance to enhance a fast-rising reputation as one of the country's better halfbacks when the Chiefs host the Hurricanes tonight.
Leonard made a sharp impact for Waikato in last year's Air New Zealand Cup, his lively running and tidy defensive work adding
extra elements to Waikato's game.
Throw in the four tries he bagged in the march to the championship and it was a season to savour.
But the 21-year-old from Morrinsville, who was in the Chiefs' wider training group last year, appreciates he's stepping up a class tonight.
He was on the bench in the opening-round loss to the Brumbies in Hamilton last Saturday night, although he got on for a run in the final quarter, replacing Jamie Nutbrown.
Tonight, they swap roles and Leonard reckons this will be the biggest game of his career.
"Starting is a whole new ball game," he said. "I am pretty confident. I was reasonably happy with how it went when I came on the other night.
"I was a bit surprised when I was named to start, but it's a good chance to try and nail down a position for a while."
"For a while" means until the return of reconditioning All Black halfback Byron Kelleher, who is due to return for week eight, late next month, at which point Nutbrown and Leonard might well be battling for one spot in the 22 each week.
Leonard will square off against Alby Mathewson, another Super rugby debutant starter tonight.
Mathewson pipped Leonard for a spot in the New Zealand Colts last year, but Leonard won't be thinking of any personal points-scoring against a close rival. It's history, and best left there.
After losing to the Brumbies, and with a flight to South Africa awaiting the Chiefs this weekend, there are more important issues at stake. A win is crucial to the Chiefs' not being in the situation they were in last year when, after losing their first two games, they were always behind the 8-ball in their chase for a semifinal place.
"I've got to play the team game, not try to get one back up on him," Leonard said. "That's pointless. If we win this week I'll be happy enough."
Leonard admits he gets fidgety as important games loom.
But once he begins his pre-game drills "it's just another game of footy".
And the new look? Leonard is sporting a shaved head this season, but there's no quirky tale attached to how the locks were lopped off just before Christmas.
"I just woke up one morning and had an urge to shave it off.
"I thought I might lose my hair eventually so I thought I'd better shave it off before it gets too out of hand," he laughed.
