Sibling rivalry will come to the fore when the Otago Whalers play the Tasman Titans in the final round of the southern zone competition in Christchurch today.
Whalers centre Callum Smith will confront his older brother, Eliot Smith.
Callum (21) said it would be the first time he had played against his brother, and he was eager to go into battle.
"I am looking forward to it and if there is an opportunity to get a big shot on him, I won't be holding back."
Callum said his parents would be travelling from Nelson to watch the game and he and his brother would have equal support.
Eliot Smith is the Titans' halfback and captain. He is three years older and just as eager to play against his brother.
"I hope we both have a good game, but that doesn't mean I won't be hitting him hard if the opportunity presents itself," Smith senior said.
The game should be an even match-up. Both teams beat the Southland Rams and the West Coast Chargers earlier in the season, and lost to Canterbury A and Canterbury under-20.
Whalers coach David Reedy is expecting the Titans to throw everything at his side.
Otago is coming off a 39-20 loss to Canterbury under-20, and Reedy is looking forward to his side putting that "average performance" behind it and finishing the season "on a high".
Titans coach Ben Cooper said he was expecting an "exciting game from two very even teams".
He said his side had trained well all week and he was confident of a good performance.
The first of two finalists has been confirmed, with Canterbury A going through to next week's final.
The Whalers or the Titans would have to win by huge margins today, or win and hope Canterbury under-20 loses to the West Coast Chargers by a big score to prevent it from being an all-Canterbury final.
Canterbury under-20 is two points ahead of the Titans and the Whalers. It has a points differential of plus-five compared to the Titans' minus-40 and the Whalers' minus-41.
