John Drake: A tale of two cities

Despite Canterbury's setback against Otago, Auckland will find it extremely difficult to prise the Ranfurly Shield out of Christchurch tomorrow night.

As a squad and management team, Canterbury have shown great passion and cunning to fight off credible challengers so far.

With all the All Blacks returning, the intensity will be further increased. There is never much need for motivation for the Cantabs fronting Auckland, and some will have memories of the last challenge from Auckland when the home team was outclassed by the furious Auckland attack.

This season, Canterbury have been mentally tough and tactically smart enough to resist all challenges. However, I think they have been assisted by opponents not appreciating what is required to take the shield.

I was involved in two challenges for the log. The first, in 1983, was a disaster and a record defeat for an Auckland challenger.

Some blamed food poisoning and other distractions, but frankly we believed our own press and thought our proud history as a challenger would be enough to get us the shield off Canterbury.

In those days, a shield challenge was as close as you got to a test match. Any lack of intensity or passion was punished.

At the second attempt in 1985, we still had the shame of the first attempt in our minds. We went out with an attitude of attack, setpiece dominance, a huge fear of failure and never wanting to say "what if".

It worked, but only just. We thought we had Canterbury dead and buried just after halftime with a lead of about 20 points but they kept coming back, right to the death.

To win the shield both teams will need to attack and attack, play for 80 minutes and have the fear of failure.

Auckland play a style of rugby that is based on attack from anywhere, although I've noticed that since the Lions match they thankfully take penalty points on offer.

This attacking style suits the strengths of the players and attempts to cover some of the weaknesses - for example, a lack of length with tactical kicking.

The return of Ali Williams has greatly improved what was a suspect lineout. The scrum can wreck opposition ball but has been inconsistent and will need to be consistently strong for the entire game.

If there was one area of concern it was defence. Before the Wellington game last week, I thought it was flaky and vulnerable against sustained pressure. Remember Taranaki?

But the first half against Wellington showed a toughness and cool passion that left me confident this Auckland team can both attack and defend.

So, Auckland have all the necessary bits to take the shield. The only problem is, so do Canterbury.

With the All Black superstars, they should be greatly strengthened, even if a few returning test players have not hit this NPC running after the layoff from the Tri-Nations.

Wellington and Otago proved that Canterbury can be tested at the scrum and lineout, but I wonder if Greg Somerville and Co can have three average games in a row.

Tactically Canterbury like to play for territory when they have the ball. The defence is stingy, and they have the ability to score tries from turnovers after long periods of defending.

Furthermore these tries can start from anywhere on the field, so as an attacking machine in some ways Canterbury can be just as dangerous and unpredictable as Auckland.

The war at the breakdown could decide the match. Daniel Braid has come into some great form, but he's up against the master in Richie McCaw. It could be the pace to the breakdown of the others that decides the outcome.

Auckland like to take risks offloading the ball in the tackle, thus putting runners past the defensive line.

This will give the Cantabs the chance for quick turnovers but also leave them vulnerable to runaway tries as their defensive pattern relies on little use of sweepers in behind the first line.

How the referee, Paul Honiss, polices the ruck/maul and offside lines could determine the style and nature of the game. Let's hope the attackers are given a fair go to show their skills.

If policed correctly, then penalties will come. Brent Ward has improved his success rate dramatically this season and is up to 81 per cent, third behind Luke McAlister and David Holwell in the NPC, but may feel the added pressure that the shield can bring.

Daniel Carter will be rusty with his general game but not his goalkicking and Ben Blair has been the difference between winning and losing so far this season, so no problems in that department for Canterbury.

Finally to those who criticise Canterbury and Auckland dominating the Ranfurly Shield for decades. Well, maybe these unions have a bit more passion for the shield than others.

None of this nonsense that they are playing for NPC points and winning the shield is a bonus.

Tell that to the two teams tomorrow.