Still, with the likes of Rene Ranger (right) in action, there's a lot of quality on the paddock and all signs point towards a cracking match.
Ironically, the game could be settled by two of the least decorated players on the park. Michael Hobbs and Tyler Bleyendaal will be tasked with guiding their teams around the hallowed turf and kicking the goals as well.
No pressure chaps.
KEEP AN EYE ON ...
'Aussie' Mike Harris
The Westlake Boys' High product is hot-stepping into the shoes vacated by the injured Quade Cooper.
His career was going nowhere fast in Auckland where, despite some solid outings for a poor North Harbour side, his face never seemed likely to fit the Blues' picture.
Imported playmakers were picked ahead of him and the folly of that became clear when he made some star turns for the Reds last year.
Right about now, Harris would be a very handy player for Pat Lam to call upon.
ABSENT ABs
Fears that the World Cup-winning All Blacks would saunter back into their Super 15 camps when and where they felt like it have largely subsided. Of the 33 players who took part in the World Cup, only 10 are missing from round one.
Stephen Donald, John Afoa, Brad Thorn and Mils Muliaina have gone overseas, so they're excused, while Richie McCaw and Daniel Carter are recovering from significant injuries. Colin Slade is also recovering from a groin injury, while Zac Guildford's absence can euphemistically be put down to "discipline issues".
That just leaves Blues duo Ma'a Nonu and Tony Woodcock. The former is winging his way back from a lucrative little OE in Japan, while the latter is understood to be on sabbatical somewhere near Kaukapakapa.
STAT ATTACK
This year the guest expert in the Herald's Super 15 tipping panel is Auckland University's Associate Professor David Scott. Unlike the other tipsters, our resident statistician doesn't use instinct when making his picks. Instead he uses a formula based on a team's form, home and away, over recent seasons.
His number-crunching suggests last year's champions, the Reds, might struggle.
"When I worked out my ratings, I had both the Crusaders and the Stormers rated higher than the Reds. That is for the most part because the Reds were so rubbish prior to last year and the ratings can be slow to change. They also had a couple of poor results which cut their ratings, namely the loss to the Waratahs early on, a low-margin win against the Lions away, and the loss to the Brumbies late in the year."
SAY WHAT?
"That's the nice thing, no one knows what to expect from us and one of the exciting things is we don't know how good we can become. That's what we've been trying to emphasise this week."
So says World Cup-winning coach and new Brumbies mentor Jake White. If anybody knows what he means, answers on the back of a postcard please.
FLASHPOINT
ANZ Stadium, Sydney, at 9.40pm tomorrow. No doubt.
There's always a bit of niggle when these sworn enemies meet. It might have hurt the Crusaders when they went to Brisbane and lost the Super 15 final last year, but it would have been almost as painful south of the border, where their fans and media have been saying, "It's the Waratahs' year, this year," since 1996.
TIPS
Mike Greenaway (Natal Mercury)
2011: Champion
* Blues
* Force
* Sharks
* Highlanders
* Waratahs
* Stormers
* Lions
Andrew Slack (Wallaby legend)
2011: Runner-up
* Blues
* Force
* Sharks
* Chiefs
* Reds
* Stormers
* Lions
David Scott (University of Auckland)
New entrant
* Crusaders
* Brumbies
* Bulls
* Chiefs
* Waratahs
* Stormers
* Cheetahs
Dylan Cleaver (NZ Herald)
2011: 2nd to last
* Crusaders
* Brumbies
* Bulls
* Chiefs
* Waratahs
* Stormers
* Lions
Wynne Gray (NZ Herald)
2011: Last
* Crusaders
* Brumbies
* Bulls
* Chiefs
* Reds
* Stormers
* Lions
