The captain of the North side has been given a quiet word in his ear from a relative over just how important today's inter-island fixture is.
Interest has been barely noticeable in the North-South fixture that doubles as an Otago rugby fundraiser with less than 10,000 tickets pre-sold.
But Luke Braid's had it drilled into him how important it really is.
"I think the older generation would love to see another North-South battle. My old man called me up and had a rant about what it meant to him, and probably the older generation," he says.
Players and organisers will be hoping for a good walk up crowd for this afternoon's game.
