No 8 Steven Setephano is recalled in the only change to the Otago side as coach Steve Martin keeps faith with his players for the match against Waikato at Carisbrook tomorrow.
With Otago having slipped out of contention for the semifinals after crashing to a heavy defeat to Taranaki last week, Martin may have been tempted to ring the changes and try and shake the side up.
But he has kept faith with the tried and true, the only change being Setephano, who comes back into the team after recovering from a injured shoulder he suffered against Bay of Plenty two weeks ago.
Setephano had bruising to his AC joint but had sufficiently recovered to take his place in a match against his old province.
His return sees All Black Adam Thomson move on to the blindside flank, with Eben Joubert dropping out of the squad.
Setephano should bring a bit of physical presence back into the side, while Thomson is more adept on the blindside flank, and his match-up against Waikato captain Liam Messam should provide plenty of sparks, especially at the breakdown.
Martin said the side wanted to show some mental strength and had the chance to do that with its final three games at home.
"It's a chance to finish our season strongly and show back the support we have got from our fans and our home crowd," Martin said.
"There is a very strong resolve among the team to get out there and take the chances and convert the chances and opportunities."
Wholesale changes were unlikely as most players had performed well in patches, and Martin wanted to show faith in the players who had grabbed a solid win over Bay of Plenty.
This is uncharted territory for all teams in the Air Zealand Cup, with a full round robin in the 14-team competition for the first time, so players were still turning up well into October.
Otago needed to concentrate on converting the opportunities which came around, Martin said.
"Little mistakes last week from all different players cost us, and Taranaki only had two or three real opportunities and they made the most of them."
Martin said the side had to get domination in territory and the points would come, including penalty goals.
That was what happened against Bay of Plenty, Martin said.
The winning effort against Bay of Plenty was only two weeks ago, at Carisbrook, so the side could gain confidence from that, its last game at the ground.
Waikato, which has won five of its last six games, has named an unchanged team, and will carry a bit of confidence into the match.
It beat North Harbour 32-22 in Hamilton last week, and sits eighth in the table, moving up from last spot after three rounds.
It will field an All Black inside-back pairing in halfback Brendon Leonard and first five-eighth Stephen Donald, with All Black hooker Aled de Malmanche also lining up.
Toby Lynn will play his 50th game for Waikato tomorrow, while his locking partner Kevin O'Neill will play his 18th game for the side to earn himself a blazer.
Otago v Waikato
Carisbrook, tomorrow, 2.35pm
Otago: Ben Smith, Ryan Shortland, Brett Mather, Charlie Hore, Karne Hesketh, Glenn Dickson, Sean Romans, Steven Setephano, Alando Soakai (captain), Adam Thomson, Tom Donnelly, Hayden Triggs, Sam Hibbard, Jason Macdonald, Ben Nolan.
Reserves: Peter Mirrielees, Kees Meeuws, Hoani Matenga, Paul Grant, James Kenny, Andrew Parata, Fetu'u Vainikolo.
Waikato: Sosene Anesi, Tim Mikkelson, Jackson Willison, Callum Bruce, Dwayne Sweeney, Stephen Donald, Brendon Leonard, Alex Bradley, Jack Lam, Liam Messam (captain), Kevin O'Neill, Toby Lynn, Nathan White, Aled de Malmanche, Hikairo Forbes.
Reserves: Ole Avei, Latu Talakai, Kent Fife or Romana Graham, Jordan Smiler, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Roimata Hansell-Pune, Henry Speight.
