Promising pivot in Waikato sights

Expect Waikato to put the heat on promising Canterbury first five-eighth Stephen Brett when the teams square off in the national championship clash in Hamilton tonight.

Brett is tipped to have a bright future. The 20-year-old made three appearances for Canterbury off the bench last year and was also a member of the New Zealand under-21 team.

He caught the eye in the admittedly easy win over Hawkes Bay a fortnight ago with some slick running skills which is sure to have attracted the attention of Waikato's impressive loose forward trio of Liam Messam, Marty Holah and captain Steven Bates.

Brett is also one of only two personnel changes from the Canterbury team which fought off a spirited Waikato Ranfurly Shield challenge last year. The other change is the inclusion of All Black Greg Somerville for Wyatt Crockett at loosehead prop.

That 23-15 loss was tough to take, as Waikato crossed Canterbury's line five times, but for a variety of reasons ended the game with only two tries to show for their efforts.

"The most important thing is being accurate," Waikato coach Warren Gatland said in assessing how to beat Canterbury.

"And you've got to concentrate. What Canterbury are so good at is they don't panic. They keep playing, wait for their chance and when it comes they're normally pretty good at finishing it off."

Canterbury have turned arriving perfectly primed for the big occasion into an art form. Captain and hooker Corey Flynn said it was about "coming to work with your mind switched on".

"You look at the top unions. Everyone is always out to get them and any fall in mental application is liable to get you spanked."