Silence between friends

Best friends Riki Flutey and Aaron Mauger are not speaking ahead of the Guinness Premiership Final.

Riki Flutey and Aaron Mauger are not speaking.

The two New Zealanders have been close friends for years, they were groomsmen at each other's wedding and next week take their families on a joint holiday to a villa in Portugal.

But all contact has been severed ahead of Saturday's Guinness Premiership Final, when Wasps and Leicester reprise their bitter rivalry at Twickenham.

And with friendships firmly on hold, Flutey is determined to crown his successful debut season at Wasps with a grand final victory.

“Aaron and I are the best of mates. He has been an absolute legend in the All Blacks and to come up against him again is a fantastic opportunity,” said Flutey.

“The last time we faced each other was three years ago. I was still with the Hurricanes and he was playing for the Crusaders.

“We have played all our New Zealand age group rugby together. I was a groomsman at his wedding and he was one of my boys.

“But us Kiwis, we don't tend to get in contact with each other in the week leading up to the games so we can stay focused.

“We are heading away together on Tuesday for a holiday with our families. One of us is going to be the happy boy.”

Mauger arrived in English rugby after the World Cup as a seasoned All Black international but it is the uncapped Flutey who has taken the Premiership by storm this season.

After moving to Wasps from London Irish last summer, Flutey has shone in the new role of inside centre and last week he was voted player of the year by his fellow professionals.

In September, Flutey qualifies to play for England on residency grounds. He is a proud Maori but would relish the chance to pull on the red rose.

England manager Martin Johnson has a bountiful stock of inside centres to choose from – Olly Barkley, Toby Flood, Shane Geraghty – but Flutey's relationship with Danny Cipriani will force him into the reckoning.

“When I initially came over from New Zealand it wasn't to play for England,” Flutey reflected.

“I had been a utility back with the Hurricanes and it came to the point where I wanted to make a mark in one position.

“When Wasps approached me and said they wanted me to play inside centre I knew it was an awesome opportunity.

“I knew Wasps had a strong player leadership group, I knew they were hard on each other and demanded the best out of each other. That was something I wanted to be a part of.

“Coming to Wasps has helped my game hugely and it would be amazing to play at the highest level. If I did ever get the opportunity to represent England I would honoured.”

That harsh Wasps environment has led to remarkable success during the professional era, with four league titles and two Heineken Cups in the last decade.

It seemed any hope of a fifth Premiership crown was beyond them after a poor start to the season saw Wasps slump to 10th place.

But no club has a better record of timing their title run to perfection. Three times Wasps have won the Premiership in a grand final without finishing top of the regular season table.

True to form, Wasps produced a late-season surge. They won eight games on the bounce and secured a return to Twickenham with a home semi-final win against Bath.

Wasps have an impressive big-match record against Leicester, having beaten them in the 2005 Premiership final and 2007 Heineken Cup Final.

“My last winners' medal was back in 2000 when Wellington won the NPC. I have been in a lot of finals but I have always come second,” said Flutey.

“Looking at the silverware Wasps have picked up over the last 10 years it is fantastic and hopefully tomorrow we can pull out a really big performance against Leicester.”

With Cipriani out injured, Wasps have asked Flutey to return to his more familiar surroundings of fly-half, where he will be in direct opposition to Andy Goode.

Losing Cipriani may be a significant blow to Wasps but Mauger is still wary, having seen his old mate finally fulfil his potential.

“Riki has been the form player this season and rightly rewarded,” said Mauger.

“He's adapted to the English style really well. He's strong on his feet and in the contact area. He distributes very well and turned into the complete player.

“We've maintained our relationship along the years and he's offered for my family to stay down with him after game. I think we'll wait to see how the match goes first!”