He is a staunch Hurricanes supporter so why won't the former Campbell Live presenter be in the stands? Chris Rattue finds out.

Sympathy for the southern man is a sporting trait we find hard to shift, writes Wynne Gray.

The Highlanders have named an unchanged side ahead of what they hope will be an occasion to celebrate in the Super Rugby final

The Highlanders are focused heading into Saturday's Super Rugby final in Wellington. Video / Southern Stringers

A contingent of more than 500 Highlanders supporters will march into Westpac Stadium on Saturday night as part of the ''Landers Army''. A social media page set up to organise the ''army'' indicated the number could grow, with about 1400 signed up by noon yesterday. Source: Otago Daily Times/Youtube

More tickets to the super rugby final have gone on sale this morning from a pop-up Ticketek store outside Te Papa in Wellington. Two thousand tickets were made available from 8am for punters lining up - and some have been there since six o'clock last night. Each fan could purchase a maximum of two tickets. Fans cheered and clapped for Hurricanes hooker and All Black Dane Coles when he arrived.

The Super Rugby final features some crucial match-ups and key battles.

We've got the two best teams going head to head and you wouldn't put your house on the winner, writes Justin Marshall.

Pick any quality and the Highlanders showed it in Sydney tonight to make it an all New Zealand final.

History has not been kind to the Highlanders - but they have proven history to be irrelevant time and time again.

From playing rugby with an old plastic bottle to pulling on the black jersey, Waisake Naholo's path to the top has not been straightforward.

Where will the match turn, what can we look for to see who's getting some traction? Wynne Gray provides the analysis.

Liam Coltman is not getting ahead of himself. The Waratahs - and their big, bristling forwards - await, but the Highlanders hooker and his team are staying calm.

The Highlanders are one win away from playing in their second Super Rugby final, with only the Waratahs standing between Jamie Joseph's side and the final.

The Highlanders need to be shown a bit more respect, their former coach Greg Cooper believes.

The brilliance of the Highlanders' attack poses questions about whether it can be repeated at All Black level, writes Wynne Gray.

There were 16 long years between home playoff games for the Highlanders - but this one was well worth the wait.

Catch everything that happened in the big Super Rugby quarter-final between the Highlanders and the Chiefs.

It is just another game - but then again it is not. Trying to find the blend between the two is what the Highlanders need to do tonight in Dunedin.

In 2010, the Highlanders were effectively broke and a place in the playoffs appeared a million miles away. Now they are getting ready to host their first playoff game in 16 years.

Another year older and a lot wiser, the Highlanders plan to put the painful lessons learned in their qualifier defeat 12 months ago to good use against the Chiefs on Saturday.

The Blues just need to look at the Highlanders, writes Justin Marshall.

Flanker John Hardie looks to be the biggest injury concern for the Highlanders as they get into playoff mode. The team will start training today.