Southland has it all to play for tonight but co-coach David Henderson will be happy if his side is not too excited about the match.
Southland heads into tonight's match against top-of-the-table Canterbury in Christchurch with its season on the line and a rare chance for glory.
The Stags are third on the Air New Zealand Cup ladder but could drop out of the semifinals with teams like Waikato, Auckland and Hawkes Bay nipping at their heels.
But just as important for Southland is that the Ranfurly Shield is at stake against a Canterbury side weakened by the non-availability of All Blacks.
Otago may be hurting after 52 years of not having the most prized trophy in domestic rugby but Southland has experienced a similar barren spell. It last held the Shield 50 years ago.
Southland had a golden opportunity last year, when it challenged Auckland and was beaten 13-9 at Eden Park.
"I think we've learned a few lessons from last year. We're just going about things in our normal manner, relaxing, and we haven't changed much from last week," Henderson said.
"Last year, when we faced Auckland, we took a while to get going and were a bit frigid for too long."
Henderson had the luxury of selecting from an injury-free squad, and has named a strong side, but is praying for a dry field tonight.
"We'll just be pleased to get some dry ball. We had a dry game against Otago, then North Harbour, and then we had to wait until we played Tasman. It makes a huge difference, just with the way we want to play the game and the ability to give the ball some air."
The forecast for Christchurch today is mainly fine with the chance of a shower.
Henderson has made just one change from the side which beat Taranaki last Friday night, with halfback Scott Cowan coming in for his brother, Jimmy, who is on All Black duty.
Canterbury welcomes first five-eighth Stephen Brett back into its side after he missed last week's game because of a back injury.
A Southland signing for next season, winger James Paterson, has been relegated to the reserves bench for Canterbury, replaced by Tu Umaga-Marshall.
Henderson said Hawkes Bay showed the way to upset Canterbury by being very organised and getting stuck into Canterbury at the breakdown.
