'Helluva rivalry, helluva week': Blues, Crusaders in Super Rugby decider

The latest episode in New Zealand's most intense rivalry will be played out on Saturday when the Crusaders and Blues face each other in the Super Rugby Pacific final.

Their storied feud dates back 139 years to when the two most successful sides in New Zealand clashed for the first time, with Auckland narrowly coming out on top.

At a provincial level, Auckland hold a slight edge, but in Super Rugby it's the men from Canterbury who dominate.

They have 12 titles while the Blues, who are on a 15-match winning streak, are chasing their fifth.

"It's a helluva week to go up there and a helluva rivalry," Crusaders coach Scott Robertson said ahead of the final at Eden Park in Auckland.

"There's going to be drama," added Blues coach Leon MacDonald, a former Crusaders' stalwart who won two Super titles playing alongside Robertson and later won another two as his assistant coach, before heading north to Auckland.

Between them, the Blues and Crusaders will field 22 of the 36-man All Blacks squad named this week for the three-Test series against Ireland in July.

Several positions will serve as an All Blacks trial before the Test starting line-up is decided, particularly at flyhalf, where Beauden Barrett faces Richie Mo'unga.

There are also family ties with Barrett leading the Blues and brother Scott captaining the Crusaders, while Crusaders centre Jack Goodhue has his twin brother Josh at lock for the Blues.

Amid the pre-match hype, Robertson has turned to former Crusaders headliners for advice on handling the build-up.

The word from Robbie Deans, who coached the Crusaders to five Super titles and has now won five in Japan with the Wild Knights, was to "keep things simple", Robertson said.

"And I was talking to Richie McCaw yesterday and