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The breaking news out of Wellington is that Ardie Savea has been ruled out of the final.

After getting through the captain's run and seemingly been confirmed to start, Savea now won't play after failing to recover from a knee injury.

Callum Gibbins has been named in Savea's place at openside flanker.

The Highlanders are the perennial underdogs who head into the final on the back of a brilliant tactical display when they trounced the defending champion NSW Waratahs last weekend.

But they are up against a tasty table-topping Hurricanes side who dispatched the Brumbies in impressive fashion.

The Highlanders have won their past four games in Wellington, with their round 17 loss to the Hurricanes played in Napier last month.

These sides lost their only previous appearances in Super finals; both to the Crusaders.

Plenty of colour and atmosphere around the capital. I have arrived at the Cake Tin alongside Kris Shannon and it was a busy walk through the streets with plenty of jerseys, flags, scarves and the like on display. A surprising amount of Highlanders fans in attendance here

We liken ourselves to a mixture of Julian Savea, Nehe Milner-Skudder and Waisake Naholo - pace, power and footwork

Just over 30 minutes to kick off now and everyone is starting to get a bit excited. Where are you tuning in from tonight? And what do you predict? Click 'comment now' to share your view.

And my contribution...

Some of the boys,
Have got it into their heads,
About moving up North,
To follow the bread,
But that ain't for me,
That kind of thing just don't rate,
This is one Southern boy,
Who ain't crossin' the Strait.

Now we might not be rich,
But when you come from down here,
You know we got the best girls,
And the best damn beer,
So you can keep your Queen City,
With your cocktails and cool,
Give me a beer in a seven,
With the boys shooting pool.

I'm a Southern Man
Well I'm Southern bred
I got the South in my blood
And I'll be here till I'm damn well dead

'Cos down here we know
What makes a Southern boy tick
And it ain't margueritas
With some fruit on a stick
Well it might not be fancy
But when you come from down here
You know you got the best girl
And you got the best beer.

I'm a Southern Man
Well I'm Southern bred
I got the South in my blood
And I'll be here till I'm damn well dead.

How could I forget to introduce Michael Brown (poem below), the Herald's Head of Sport. That may be Michael's first and last contribution tonight.

Think the Highlanders can win? The TAB will take your business. The Highlanders are currently $2.80 outsiders to win tonight while the Hurricanes are sitting pretty at $1.40. The wackiest bet of the night is a punter who has put $5,000 on the match ending in a draw after 80 minutes, paying 19-1.

As a bit of light reading to warm you up, Andrew Hore is in a no-lose situation given his links to both the Hurricanes and Highlanders but he knows what it's like to be called a member of a no-name forward pack... and he didn't like it.

Illustrious former Hurricanes like Riki Flutey now being honoured pitch side and introduced on the big screen.

Both teams are out now and the crowd has erupted. It's finally here, the scene is set and we're ready to go. Stand by for what should be a blockbusting final.