Taranaki have a perfect season en route to claiming the NPC Championship title with a 32-19 victory over Otago at TET Stadium in Inglewood.
For the third time in a decade, the Ranfurly Shield is heading to Dunedin - not a bad record, given it took them over 55 years to recapture the coveted 'Log o' Wood' between 1957 and 2013.
The match will see the return to action of Jaco Kriel, who left Premiership side Gloucester at the start of the year to return to SA and the Lions earlier this year.
While the likes of Tasman, Waikato and Canterbury have all said farewell to their contingents of national representatives for the coming weekend, Taranaki will have at least one All Black to call on in their first-up Ranfurly Shield Defence against Otago.
The Barrett brothers, Beauden, Scott and Jordie, are arguably three of the greatest ever rugby exports out of Taranaki. Finally, after an exceptionally long wait, the youngest two brothers will now have the opportunity to play for their home province.
It has been a horrendous run of injury for the Welsh No8 but he finally has reasons for optimism after making it into the Bath line-up this weekend.
The second week of the Mitre 10 Cup will see neighbours do battle with neighbours – which means it’s the perfect opportunity for fans to get a glimpse at the talent that’s coming through the ranks in their local regions.
Unwanted All Blacks duo Waisake Naholo and Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi will have to state their case for World Cup inclusion through the Mitre 10 Cup after being named in the Taranaki squad for the upcoming campaign.
Taranaki have held onto the Ranfurly Shield in their first defence of the year, but more important – they unearthed another Naholo that torments defences.