And, like the previous seven, it is going to be 80 minutes of car crashes and collisions.
Thompson missed two derbies earlier in the season because of an ankle injury but is ready for plenty of crash and bash tonight.
"They are always hard to play. We only just beat them last time. They are a very physical side and their mentality is to try and beat us up around the ruck and bully us there so it is going to be a tough battle," he said.
"Like all derbies it going to be hard for the first 10 minutes. It will come down to who is the fittest side in the last 20 minutes."
Thompson said his ankle injury - it was a nasty sprain, picked up in the second game of the season, against the Reds - disrupted his season and he was still catching up.
"With my rehab it was good but nothing beats game time. You can do as much fitness as you could but match fitness, there is nothing to compared with it.
" I'm a bit behind the 8-ball in terms of where I want to be, to be honest, but in regards to this week I just want to take another step forward to be where I want to be."
Players were different in the way they returned from a spell off the field, Thompson said.
"They reckon Richie McCaw could be out for 10 weeks and first game back he was good as he could be.
"I'm lucky as I have not had a lot
of injuries in my time.
"This would be the longest I have been out. It's just about trying to get that confidence back."
Thompson scored a try in the side's big win over the Sunwolves last week. The good performance by the side came down to plenty of work on the training pitch.
"We had done a lot of work. We were letting other teams off the hook. Full credit to the coaches for coming up with the drills and the boys implemented those plans.
"We slowed it right down, the real basics. Kept it simple and it is a simple game after all. Stripped it back and made it real straightforward.
"I know for myself I will call for a ball even though I'm not clear. But it is your nature to call. But we were only calling when we were actually clear."