But last year's finalists have travelled contrasting paths in 2014 and while Canterbury won their first four outings with relative ease, Wellington experienced four defeats from as many games.
Chris Boyd's Lions have been ravaged by injuries this year, which has disrupted their campaign and relegation now looks like a distinct possibility.
Their season didn't get any better when they were beaten 46-12 by Canterbury in Christchurch tonight as they were outgunned by the competition's heavyweights.
Canterbury have class throughout their side and they welcomed back three-test All Black Tom Taylor to run the cutter from first-five.
The 25-year-old Taylor opened the scoring with a try and his steady boot helped tick the scoreboard along during the opening spell, although the usually accurate Taylor did miss his first two attempts at the posts.
On the other side of the ledger, Jackson Garden-Bachop became the fourth man to pull on the No 10 jersey for Wellington this season after Boyd found little success in using Fa'atonu Fili, James So'oialo and Chase Tiatia.
While they've had plenty of cattle in the doctor's office this year, Wellington still have many talented players at their disposal with Super Rugby experience but they have struggled to put together a complete performance.
Their lack of tested combinations has hurt them and they will need to turn things around during the back half of the season if they want to avoid their campaign slipping in to complete disarray.
Canterbury enjoyed a 15-0 halftime advantage and a try from hooker Codie Taylor helped extend that lead as Wellington fell further in to a hole and when Taylor completed his brace, the four-try bonus point was secure with more than 20 minutes left.
Late tries compiled the agony for Wellington as the scoreline blew out.
Canterbury will travel to Pukekohe to meet Counties Manukau next Friday as their season continues, while Wellington have a nice break before they host Tasman in the capital on Sunday, September 21.
Canterbury 46 (Tom Taylor 2, Willi Heinz, Codie Taylor, Tom Sanders, Luke Whitelock, Ben Funnell tries; Taylor pen, 4 con), Wellington 12 (Christian Lloyd, Brad Shields tries; Jason Woodward con). Halftime: 15-0.
- Daniel Richardson of APNZ
