DERBY DAY SUPER 14 SEMI-FINALNew Zealand's island neighbours have a long and bruising history of close encounters, writes Damian Cullen

MAY, 2004: Canterbury Crusaders - who had won four of the previous six Super-12 titles - make the short trip to the Westpac Stadium in Wellington for the final group match of the season. They need victory to secure a semi-final spot. The home side have nothing but pride to play for.

Chris Jack, the New Zealand "player of the year" two seasons earlier, looks to gain some yards for the visitors when Jerry Collins steams in and smashes him, sending the lock flying backward. Jack is carried from the field.

The hits continue during a ferocious match; the Crusaders' Daniel Carter leaves the field of battle early in the second half, blood pumping from his head.

The home side win 37-20.

Pride, apparently, was more than enough incentive on its own.

Collins was again involved two seasons later, when he fired the ball at the head of the Crusaders captain, Richie McCaw, during the visiting side's 20-11 victory in Wellington in the group stages of the inaugural Super 14 season (Australia's Western Force and South Africa's Central Cheetahs had been added to the Super 12).

Collins was, though, a paragon of restraint in comparison to the Hurricanes prop Neemia Tialata, who in reaction to McCaw's unorthodox ball-winning tactics at the breakdown literally throttled and punched McCaw at the bottom of a ruck and was caught in the act by TV cameras.

The teams met again that year in the Super 14 decider - and the following day Jack and Tialata were named in a New Zealand squad under for the captaincy of McCaw. Being international team-mates, apparently, only made the hits harder.

Before he left last year for Saracens, Jack was at the centre of many famous meetings between the Crusaders - from the South Island - and the Hurricanes - from the North Island. Back in March 2001, in a crucial Super 12 game at Christchurch, Filo Tiatia tackled Jack and forced his head into the grass, the ridiculous foul costing the Hurricanes three points.

It looked like it would be business as usual for the home side, but the Hurricanes battered the Crusaders' defence, sometimes illegally - Tiatia (now with the Ospreys) was sinbinned for a high tackle and Tana Umaga gifted the visitors three points for a similar offence.

In the end, the visitors, led by Umaga, Christian Cullen (who scored two tries on the day, something the future Munster player managed in two other games against the Crusaders), David Howell (who would leave for Leinster in 2005), Rodney So'oialo and one Jonah Lomu, recorded a famous 41-29 victory against the champions.

The 2006 final, though, was one of the most bizarre matches in the history of top-level club rugby. As usual the Crusaders had started the season hot favourites to win the title.

The Hurricanes had enjoyed a significant coup three years previously with the capture of the Crusaders' assistant-coach Colin Cooper. Under Cooper and the new team captain, Umaga, the Wellington side reached the Super 12 play-offs, and ran into the Crusaders at Christchurch. It was a great season for the club, despite the 39-16 semi-final defeat to their bitter rivals.

And the Hurricanes were back in the play-offs in 2005, but in a week to forget for the Wellington club they lost their final group match to the Crusaders 40-20 at Christchurch as Rico Gear and Andrew Mehrtens ran the show.

Regardless, both sides qualified for the semi-finals and seven days later the Hurricanes returned to the Jade Stadium. This time the hurt was doubled, the Crusaders running riot, especially Carter - who claimed 22 points (one try, four conversions and three penalties) in a 47-7 humiliation of the opposition.

The Crusaders would beat the Waratahs in the final, and the following season they would again reach the decider - but this time the Hurricanes were waiting for them there.

The final was the fourth all-Kiwi final, but the first to feature the Crusaders and the Hurricanes. On Saturday, May 27th, 2006 Jade Stadium in Christchurch was packed to the rafters, and the Crusaders were understandably hot favourites to claim another home victory.

But the hugely-hyped game between the islands would not be remembered for the action of the field of play - because few really saw the game. A thick mist descended prior to the match, engulfing the stadium, but the officials and teams decided to press ahead. The fog was so dense that most spectators could not see the pitch, never mind the ball, and many left for the pubs, where they found that the TV cameras were having almost as little luck. Television commentators could see little from their usual vantage points, and so much of the commentary was delivered from the sidelines. It was, quite simply, a farce and made the opening paragraphs of every match report the following day.

Whether the Hurricanes would have lost even without the fog was beside the point - if there was a level playing field no one could see it. The 19-12 victory gave the Crusaders their sixth championship title in 11 years.

Two seasons on and the Hurricanes are back at Christchurch this weekend for the penultimate game of the season. Whoever emerges will meet the winner of Saturday's other game, between the New South Wales Waratahs and the Durban-based Sharks (Sky Sports will show one of the semi-finals live on Saturday morning).

For all the fierce rivalry, the South Islanders have had by far the better of the meetings - and, of course, have won all three of their biggest clashes to date, the 2003 and 2005 semi-finals and the 2006 decider.

By losing last weekend in the final group game of the season, the Hurricanes also lost home advantage. Winning in Christchurch, in what's now the AMI Stadium, is a huge ask.

Nothing is guaranteed, apart from a high hit-count.