100 not out: Daniel Braid
Captain Daniel Braid will play 100 games for Auckland when he leads out the team to face Canterbury in Saturday's ITM Cup final.
Braid, the 22nd Auckland centurion, joins an illustrious list of names to have reached the ton including Hallard 'Snow' White, Grant Fox, Gary and Alan Whetton, Robin and Zinzan Brooke, Sir John Kirwan and Bryan Williams.
"The opportunity to play 100 games for Auckland was one of the reasons I came back to play for the Blues and Auckland after my stint at the Reds," Braid said.
"My neck injury last year delayed that a little bit so to be able to get there now is pretty special for me."
And Braid can't think of a better team to play his 100th game against than Canterbury in a Premiership final.
"These guys have won four in a row, they're the dominant side in New Zealand at the moment. We were the last team that won the championship before them so I think it's time that someone knocked them off their perch."
All Black lock Ali Williams passed his fitness test during Thursday's training run and will start in place of Andrew Van der Heijden, while Angus Ta'avao has also overcome a niggle to start at tighthead prop.
Returning All Black Charlie Faumuina will make a strong impact off the bench after enjoying a couple of days off following Saturday's Test match against the Wallabies.
Only four players remain from the 2007 Auckland squad that won the Air New Zealand Cup - Daniel Braid, Charlie Faumuina, Tom McCartney and Ali Williams, while only Braid and McCartney played in the final.
Auckland head coach Wayne Pivac said his side faced a daunting challenge against a high-flying Canterbury outfit, but it was one they were relishing.
"They've been superb," he said of the Red and Blacks.
"Canterbury teams over the last few years along with the Crusaders tend to peak at the right time. They've got a lot of experienced players, certainly at this level, and they judge their run really well.
"They're scoring a lot of tries and they've got the best defensive record so certainly they're the number one team and it's for us to go down there and try and get up and knock them over."
Auckland: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Ben Lam, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Dave Thomas, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Alby Mathewson; 8 Joe Edwards, 7 Daniel Braid, 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Liaki Moli, 3 Angus Ta'avao, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Pauliasi Manu.
Replacements: 16 Nathan Vella, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Nathan Hughes, 19 Sean Polwart, 20 Wayne Ngaluafe, 21 Simon Hickey, 22 Lolagi Visinia.
Date: Saturday, October 27
Venue: AMI Stadium, Addington
Kick-off: 19.35 (06:35 GMT)
Referee: Glen Jackson
Assistant referees: Mike Fraser, Nick Briant
Television match official: Chris Pollock
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