KEY POINTS:
Rugby's national championship splutters back into life tonight, with Waikato travelling to Northland and Tasman hosting Bay of Plenty in Blenheim.
Not exactly clashes of the Titans, then, to mark the start of the third and final Air New Zealand Cup - at least in its current form.
No big derby clashes, no grudge matches, no finals rematches. Just a lone quarter-finalist coming off one of its most disappointing campaigns in recent times to top the billing and three also-rans to make up the numbers.
No exactly a marketer's dream. Then again, just how do you go about selling a competition already widely acknowledged as failing, which is set for a radical overhaul?
That answer it seems, at least based on tonight's match-ups, is you don't.
With Deans v Henry 2 on the horizon it would probably have been a forlorn exercise anyway.
Not that there isn't plenty to play for.
Beginning a new era under coach Tony Hanks, Waikato will be out to put the disappointment of last year's quarter-final exit at the hands of Hawke's Bay behind them with a solid opening effort.
Hanks has named discarded All Blacks loose forward Sione Lauaki on the bench.
"It was felt it was a good chance to bring him into the Waikato environment, with the view to giving him some game time off the bench," Hanks said.
Whether it was Hanks or the All Blacks coaching panel that felt it was a "good chance" was unclear, but given Lauaki's performance against Australia in Sydney last weekend, it's an environment he will surely need to get used to.
Waikato are a radically altered side from the one that failed to defend its title last season, with Steven Bates, Marty Holah, Byron Kelleher, Roy Kinikinilau, Tom Willis, Jono Gibbes and Keith Robinson all having either departed overseas or retired.
Prop Hikairo Forbes will make his debut alongside Aled de Malmanche and recent signing Oli Avei in the front row. With Stephen Donald on All Blacks duty, the playmaking duties fall to Callum Bruce, while loose forward recruits Faifili Lavave and Tom Harding will be expected to dominate the rucks.
Northland shape as a tough prospect for a youthful Waikato side. The Taniwha will be guided by veteran hands David Holwell and Justin Collins, while No 8 Blair Urlich has returned from Japan. A side that lost just one home match last season and has won all three pre-season matches this year also boasts plenty of strike power out wide, with Super 14 standout Fetu'u Vainikolo and exciting prospect Rene Ranger on the wings.
Tasman versus Bay of Plenty is a clash of two of the favourites for the chop when the competition is pared down next year. Nelson Bays and Marlborough have already indicated their desire to end the Makos merger - a move that would almost certainly see both dropped to the Heartland Championship - while Bay of Plenty are more intent on financial survival than challenging for titles.
Chiefs props Simms Davison and Ben Castle are the latest departures from a side that struggled mightily last season.
