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With the Australian conference continuing to provide disappointment, the clash between the Hurricanes and Blues is set to be a genuine local rivalry truly worth watching. The result might not be as clear-cut as expected with Sonny Bill Williams returning for the Blues to face the heir apparent to the All Blacks No.12 jersey, Ngani Laumape.
Fundamentals will determine Canberra winner
One has lost five straight and the other three of their last four. Yes, the 2018 campaigns of Melbourne Rebels and the Brumbies are going backwards at a rate ahead of Saturday night's showdown in Canberra.
Having won their first three and four of their first five, Melbourne Rebels were the surprise competition leaders in the opening month of the season. But then came games against New Zealand opposition, and injuries to Will Genia, leaving the Rebels looking much like the side that finished last in 2017.
The big problem Dave Wessels has got is in defence. Last week against the Crusaders, the second time in five games the Rebels had conceded more than 50 points, Wessels' side missed 33 tackles for a success rate of only 78 percent. The image of Seta Tamanivalu powering down the right touchline, bumping off hapless Rebels defenders at will, isn't easily forgotten either.
The Brumbies' chief problem, meanwhile, comes when they have the ball. They just don't know what to do with it. In their last outing a fortnight ago, at home to the Crusaders themselves, the Brumbies were given every opportunity to register an upset when the visitors were reduced to 13 men midway through the second half.
But the Brumbies were clueless in attack, failing to ask any genuine questions of the Crusaders defence. It showed a lack of rugby IQ, a chasm in understanding of the game's most basic principles.
So who wins this one? Even though the Brumbies will still be missing David Pocock, the Rebels will be without Genia, which should prove more costly. It's unlikely to be a match that hits any great heights and given the week Australian rugby has suffered off the field, not the sort of product the game Down Under needs.
Whatever the case, it's hard to see the loser recovering to mount any sort of challenge in the Australian conference despite both sides within 10 points of leaders, NSW Waratahs. Both the Brumbies and Rebels have looked badly out of sorts in recent weeks, each battling a significant problem with one of the game's fundamental skills.
Come full time on Sunday, you may as well put a line through the loser for 2018. It's not worth pondering how brutal the viewing a draw could be.
Match Centre: Sunwolves vs. Reds
Match Centre: Brumbies vs. Rebels
The past and the future: but what about the present?
If the lone Australian derby in Round 13 doesn't exactly fill you with excitement then hopefully Friday night's all-New Zealand contest can provide the intensity that local rivalries should deliver.
It may be second against fifth in terms of the NZ conference ladder, but given their drought-breaking win on the road in Sydney the Blues represent a slightly tougher challenge for the Hurricanes from what the Auckland-based outfit seemingly appeared seven days prior.
Sonny Bill Williams Phil Walter/Getty Images
And then there's the return of Sonny Bill Williams, and his match-up with his heir apparent in the All Blacks No.12 jersey: Ngani Laumape. It is a mouth-watering midfield showdown with potentially more immediate Test ramifications than what many would think.
Laumape has been in irresistible form this season, showing that he is far more than just a midfield battering ram. The former NRL player has continued to develop his game, evidenced by the aerial leap against the Chiefs earlier this year in which he outjumped Anton Lienert-Brown, kept his feet and then scored.
It is the same growth of game that Ma'a Nonu went through in his later years and something we saw from Sonny Bill Williams on the 2017 spring tour as he laid on tries for Damian McKenzie and Ryan Crotty with delicate grubber kicks. Inside centres can no longer be merely a second distributor or a hard-running line-breaker, the modern-day No.12 must be able to handle both roles.
Friday night's game in Auckland will be Williams' first since he broke his wrist in late March, leaving him just three games to prove to All Blacks Steve Hansen he is ready to start at No.12 in next month's series with France.
Waiting in the wings in Laumape, who at 25 is the All Blacks' long-term option beyond the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Should he dominate Williams in Auckland, that timeframe could become far more immediate. He's that good.
Match Centre: Blues vs. Hurricanes
Match Centre: Crusaders vs. Waratahs
Match Centre: Highlanders vs. Lions
The 'Damians' are set to light up Newlands
The Stormers' Damian Willemse and the Chiefs' Damian McKenzie are arguably two of the most exciting young flyhalves in the world right now and they will go head-to-head on in the No. 10 jerseys in the shadow of Table Mountain this weekend.
Both are blessed with a lot of flair, speed, wicked stepping ability and more than adequate right boots. Both players are also wonderful defenders.
Damian Willemse MARTY MELVILLE/AFP/Getty Images
But what combines all those lovely attributes is their courage to back their wonderful abilities as rugby players. They aren't afraid to turn that high-risk pay into lavish reward.
"Exciting," was Chiefs coach Colin Cooper answer when asked about Willemse's abilities this week.
"He's a young man that is great for the game and the Stormers and we're looking forward to defending him."
McKenzie has played most of his rugby at fullback at Super Rugby and Test level, and will have wonderful memories of Newlands after he tore the Springboks to shreds at this venue last year.
But Cooper says McKenzie's playmaking abilities make him a dangerous customer at flyhalf.
"It's going to take time ... he's a young man. He is exciting and defensively he is very strong and his kicking game is very good. That's his edge ... he'll back himself anywhere," the Chiefs coach said.
The Battle of the Damians will be a good one to watch this weekend.
