Do it for Aaron.
That is really the only motivation the Highlanders need tonight.
There is, as everyone knows, plenty riding on the game against the Reds at Forsyth Barr Stadium as the Highlanders need to win to stay in the playoff hunt and rescue what has generally been a disappointing season.
The team chases competition points, and players get a penultimate chance to impress with an eye on selection for next year.
Really, though, this is all about Aaron Smith and the duty the Highlanders have to send their greatest stalwart out - he still has at least one game left for the club, and potentially more if unlikely playoffs qualification becomes reality, but this is farewell to Dunedin - with a rousing victory over the Australians.
If there are such things as rugby gods, however, they will see fit to give the little man in the blue No9 jersey plenty of opportunities to pass, snipe and dart tonight, and to give his team the five points it really needs ahead of the difficult trip to Eden Park to play the Blues next Friday.
Highlanders captain Billy Harmon has leaned heavily on Smith for support this year and intends to do what he can to give his halfback a fond farewell.
"Coming down here, I hadn’t had much to do with Nuggie," Harmon said.
"It’s always pretty exciting to get around one of the world’s best players, and see how they operate, and what goes on behind closed doors.
"It’s no accident he’s become one of the top players ever. His energy, the work he does outside of the game - it’s pretty unmatched.
"It’s been exciting to share the field with him for a few years. He’s been a massive part of this team, and it will be sad to lose him.
"Hopefully, we can have a good crack for him. The boys will be giving it everything."
It is almost certainly lose-and-go-home time for the Highlanders.
They are three points outside the top eight, and the final two playoff spots are going to be a dogfight between the Reds (23 points), Force (22), Highlanders (19), Fijian Drua (17) and Rebels (16).
History very clearly favours the home side - the Highlanders have won five straight against the Reds with an average margin of 12 points - but you might recall the Queenslanders recently snapped a 19-game losing streak in New Zealand by shocking the rampant Chiefs.
And here is a rather ugly statistic. The Highlanders have not won back-to-back games at Forsyth Barr Stadium since June 2021. So much for home advantage.
It is a big night for Smith but it is also a big occasion for rookie head coach Clarke Dermody.
Outwardly calm, there must be some internal turmoil as Dermody faces the possibility his debut campaign will end with just four wins, and a placing as low as 11th, but he is focused on the job at hand and not raking over the coals just yet.
"I’ve always been a process-driven sort of coach," Dermody said.
"Win, lose or draw, you go back and try to make it better. We’ve had a fair bit of disruption. But you’re always learning."
Playing lovely rugby is always the aim, but the Highlanders will happily win ugly, as they did last week, and if it comes down to goal-kicking, they have the most accurate marksman in the competition in Sam Gilbert, landing 86.4% of his attempts.
In a late change, Taieri and Southland centre Matt Whaanga will make his Highlanders debut at centre, with Thomas Umaga-Jensen a late withdrawal with injury.
The Reds have been a weird mix of the great and the ghastly in 2023, but they will be motivated to win tonight - not to spoil the party at Smith’s house but to seal their own path to the playoffs.
They bring the best lineout in the competition, running at an 89% success rate, a prolific try-scorer in Josh Flook, halfback dynamo Tate McDermott and ball-carrying machine Harry Wilson.
A familiar face on the bench is prop Sef Fa’agase, who played for the Highlanders in 2019.
"It was a great experience. I learnt a lot about how the Kiwis think and how they want to play their footy," Fa’agase told Australian media this week.
"Hopefully we can keep the Zoo quiet. Just be prepared to run. It’s a fast deck.
"We’ll need to treat it like a final. They really need a win and so do we."
Super Rugby Pacific
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Friday, 7.05pm
Highlanders: Mitch Hunt, Jonah Lowe, Matt Whaanga, Sam Gilbert, Jona Nareki, Freddie Burns, Aaron Smith, Hugh Renton, Billy Harmon (captain), Shannon Frizell, Max Hicks, Pari Pari Parkinson, Jermaine Ainsley, Andrew Makalio, Ethan de Groot.
Reserves: Rhys Marshall, Daniel Lienert-Brown, Saula Ma’u, Marino Mikaele-Tu’u,
Sean Withy, Folau Fakatava, Connor Garden-Bachop, Scott Gregory.
Reds: Jock Campbell, Suliasi Vunivalu, Josh Flook, James O’Connor, Mac Grealy, Tom Lynagh, Tate McDermott, Harry Wilson, Fraser McReight, Liam Wright, Connor Vest, Angus Blyth, Zane Nonggorr, Matt Faessler, Peni Ravai.
Reserves: Richie Asiata, Dane Zander, Sef Fa’agase, Jake Upfield, Seru Uru, Kalani Thomas, Lawson Creighton, Hunter Paisami.
