All Blacks lock Patrick Tuipulotu has bounced back from a knee injury to captain the Auckland Blues in Saturday’s sell-out home Super Rugby final against the Waikato Chiefs.
A crowd of around 45,000 is expected at Eden Park to see the two New Zealand sides lock horns in the title decider.
Veteran forward Tuipulotu, who has played 43 Tests for New Zealand, returns to the starting side despite hobbling off with a torn medial ligament just a fortnight ago in the quarter-final win over the Fijian Drua.
“Patty came to us this week pretty keen to play in a grand final,” said Blues coach Vern Cotter on Wednesday.
“He tested the knee on Monday in the gym, then on the grass yesterday. He has the all-clear from our medical team.
“He’s a welcome addition to our pack, our talisman lock and leader.”
Tuipulotu captains a powerful Blues side boasting All Blacks loose forwards Dalton Papali’i and Hoskins Sotutu, as well as Rieko Ioane in midfield and Mark Telea on the wing.
Cotter says the Blues are braced for a Chiefs side ready to upset the hosts, having pulled off an away semi-final win at the Wellington Hurricanes.
The Chiefs have selected third-choice hooker Tyrone Thompson for the final after All Blacks front-row forward Samisoni Taukei’aho and understudy Bradley Slater were both injured in the semi-final.
The Blues have won their last 15 home games at Eden Park.
But Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan says home advantage in the final isn’t always an advantage — the Chiefs lost at home to the Canterbury Crusaders in last year’s decider.
“In a funny way you have all the comforts of home,” he said.
“But it brings additional pressure. We felt that last year.
“We want to create our own legacy around being the team who can win away from home on the big stage.”