KEY POINTS:
For South Africa-born All Black Greg Rawlinson, matches against his former rugby compatriots carry that little bit more motivation.
The lock will be back in action for the Blues in Auckland tomorrow night against Super 14 surprise packets the Lions and he's expecting a typical rugged battle against a pack from the republic.
"They's always quite a bit bigger upfront, more physical and taller in the line-out, so it's always more of a challenge for us forwards," he said.
"It's probably a style I'm a bit more used to. I always challenge myself to get up these matches."
The Lions arrived in Auckland this week on the back of an unbroken four-match winning run, which included their first victories in Australia since Super rugby began 12 seasons ago.
Those results have put them third on the table, just two points behind leaders the Blues.
Rawlinson wasn't too surprised in the turnaround the fortunes of the Johannesburg-based Lions, having noticed signs of changes last year when they were still known as the Cats.
Rather than just sticking to a traditional forward-oriented style of play, they were starting to take heed of developments elsewhere.
"They're looking a bit more at other teams in certain technical areas," he said.
"Before they were more into their own ideas but now they are seeing what the Aussies and New Zealanders are doing."
While Rawlinson, 28, has played for the Blues since 2004, he made his competition debut a year earlier with the Sharks, who are based in his former home province of Natal.
So far this season, with Blues team-mate Ali Williams on the All Blacks' reconditioning programme, the 2m-tall Rawlinson has formed a regular locking partnership with 1.95m skipper Troy Flavell.
At Eden Park, the pair will be up against the combination of Anton van Zyl and Cobus Grobler, over whom they will have a height and an experience advantage.
While Grobler (1.94m) made his Super 14 debut last year, van Zyl (1.93m) is in his first season at this level.
Meanwhile, Rawlinson was looking forward to the extra competition for places when Williams is available for selection after the Blues' bye next weekend.
"It's a good time to come back," he said.
"It's just a matter of who you put in. We all obviously want to play."
Rawlinson made his debut for the All Blacks last year, gaining caps in two tests against the touring Irish and one in a Tri-Nations fixture against the Springboks in Pretoria.
He still has his fingers crossed for the World Cup, but said his focus was on the Super 14.
"It's really out of my control," he said of his test future.
"I'm just thinking about this season and trying to do the best I can at the moment."
- NZPA
