All of a sudden, the match between the southern rivals this Saturday is shaping as a battle between two sides striking form.
Two weeks ago, Southland and Otago were on the wrong end of some heavy scorelines and both teams looked to be heading in the wrong direction.
But a fortnight is a long time in rugby and the sides from the South have come back into some form.
Otago grabbed a last minute victory over Wellington on Thursday night, winning 37-36 in the capital, and Southland then demolished Manawatu 49-14 in Invercargill on Saturday night.
The wins have lifted both sides firmly into contention for the semifinals of the Championship although there are plenty of matches still to be played.
Southland moved up to fourth in the Championship with its big win, while Otago is fifth, just one point behind.
Hawkes Bay and Wellington have long looked the teams to beat in the Championship, but Wellington has faltered in the past two weeks, while Hawkes Bay just squeaked home 23-17 against Bay of Plenty on Saturday in Napier.
It also has a tough run home having to defend the Ranfurly Shield against Auckland and Waikato.
Otago has the advantage over most other sides in the Championship as it has a game in hand.
It has also played its four sides in the Premiership and should feel a bit more confident about bagging some wins against teams from the lower ranked team.
However, as was shown by Southland's big win, the difference between the sides in each division is relatively small.
Otago's season will be defined by its run in and, after it plays Southland at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday, it then takes on North Harbour the following Thursday at North Harbour Stadium.
Its midweek game is against Northland in Whangarei on October 7 before it finishes against Bay of Plenty back at Forsyth Barr Stadium on October 11.
In other games over the weekend, Counties Manukau kept Northland winless with a 42-17 victory in Whangarei and Canterbury did enough yesterday to beat North Harbour 17-10 at North Harbour Stadium.
In the final game of the round, Auckland downed Tasman 28-19 in Blenheim.
