Ben gave plenty of love to Aaron as the latter gets ready to bring up his 100th game for the Highlanders tonight.
And why not — the duo have been a massive reason why the Highlanders have made the playoffs in the past three years.
Of the 99 games played for the Highlanders by Aaron Smith, all but six of them have also had Ben Smith in the line-up.
The two go together and feed off each other’s energy. Ben Smith said yesterday his namesake was a yapper but that was part of what made him good.
"He is awesome. He talks a lot but that doesn’t annoy you when you are out on the field because that is what you need," he said.
"He is pretty competitive and wouldn’t want to lose at anything. That is what you want in the team. Just the way how he has changed the way halfbacks play.
"Just the speed which he brings to the game is pretty important. At times he can test around the ruck. He is massive for our defence. He is pretty energetic and likes to make himself be heard. That gives the rest of the team a lot of confidence, he said.
Ben Smith said the side was motivated to play well for the All Black halfback and was keen to get back on the home turf after three weeks away.
The Highlanders may be dead last in the New Zealand conference and 11th overall but it is too early in the season to worry about points and who is sitting where.
Just getting out and improving on last week is the goal.
Signs of progress will be just as good as getting over the line.
The Highlanders fought hard to get home in Canberra last week and got themselves back into the winner’s circle.
Now, if they can grab a win tonight then they will be sitting on a 50% win record after six games.
Obviously, that is not great, but it is still handy enough when there is a run of win-nable games to come.
Waiting tonight are the Rebels, the winless mob from Melbourne, who are struggling to get a foothold in the competition.
But these games are potential banana skins, against an opponent supposedly down on form and ability and in a rut.
Often, that means teams have nothing to lose and just get out and give it a shot. Throw the play book out the window and just go for it.
Unfortunately, this is 2017, not 1987, when playing off the cuff often worked. The game is too structured and defences too well organised for sides to be caught on the hop.