Mention classic Taradale-Havelock North Hawke's Bay premier rugby matches of the past couple of decades and it doesn't take long for Luke Ottley's and Mike Chaffey's names to pop up in the conversation.
When there were situations to be sorted out, Taradale's Chaffey and Havelock North's Ottley were among their respective team's go-to blokes. The pair will have the opportunity to sort each other out when they meet in one of the fights at the Hastings Pak 'N Save Battle for Life Charity Boxing event at the Hawke's Bay Opera House in Hastings on September 21.
It will be their first boxing bout.
"We used to do boxing as part of our pre-season training with Northland but there was never any sparring," former Northland and Hawke's Bay rugby representative Ottley said.
Chaffey, 38, and Ottley, 35, first met when they were in the Hawke's Bay Sevens training squad together in 1995. The pair, who are both builders, are well known for their mongrel on the paddock and have recently recovered from injuries - Ottley a knee injury and Chaffey his problem back which forced a switch from his hooking role to the loose forwards in 1999.