He may be an Australian but Otago coach Phil Mooney is completely aware of the Ranfurly Shield.
Mooney, who was picked as Otago coach late last year and arrived in Dunedin from his Brisbane home in late January, said if he did not know enough about the Ranfurly Shield when he arrived he sure did now.
"Pretty much from day one when I arrived, people have been telling me about the history of Otago with the shield. So I'm aware of everything that has gone on beforehand," he said.
That is 21 failed challenges by Otago since losing the shield in 1957, and Mooney said the side was fully aware of the task in front of it this afternoon.
"Obviously it is going to be a massive game. It is a derby game which is always special and then the fact it is going to be for the Ranfurly Shield also makes it a huge game. Plus we are probably the underdogs.
"But we haven't dwelled on any of that. We have just prepared as well as we can and make sure by kick-off on Saturday we are where we need to be."
He said the side had looked at last week's disappointing loss to Counties-Manukau, seen what had gone wrong, and worked hard on the training paddock to fix it.
Much of the loss last week could be blamed on sloppy turnovers and basic errors, so the side had to make sure those did not reappear this afternoon.
Not only would a win get his side the prized trophy but it would also be its first points in the ITM Cup, in a season where it is vital to finish in the top half of the table.
Mooney knows it will be far from an easy task to get the shield off Southland, which had a 50-year drought before winning it last year.
"They will be tough. They are the holders of the shield and have finished in the top four in the last couple of years so we have plenty of respect for them."
The last time the two sides met in a first-class match in Invercargill, Otago first five-eighth Chris Noakes kicked a penalty to win the game with the final kick of the game in 2008.
• Otago prop Halani Aulika's appeal against a suspension was dismissed at a hearing in Auckland on Thursday night. He will have to complete the four-week suspension and will not be available for Otago until it plays North Harbour on August 19.
