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Their names say as much about their approaches as anything else and when the Hurricanes face the Waratahs in the first semi-final of the inaugural Super 14 season in Wellington on Friday, it will be a contrast of styles.

Like their round-robin encounter in Sydney last week, the Hurricanes will again try to live up to their reputation as a team of devastating runners. The Waratahs will attempt to play pretty, flowery rugby.

But the 'Tahs won't be going soft. Their forwards are far too physical for that. They are just far more structured in their approach than the 'Canes are. They are the more 'neat' team of the two.

In fact that was their downfall in Sydney last week. The Waratahs appeared to be 'frozen stiff', almost too scared to try something out of the ordinary. Their almost robotic approach allowed the Hurricanes to build up an early lead and then shut the Waratahs out with a heroic defensive effort in the second half.

The result meant the Kiwi franchise won the right to host this week's semi-final, as they overtook the Aussie outfit on the standings.

Granted, there was the shock of the Wendell Sailor drama, but how much of an effect that really had only they will know.

It is doubtful if the Waratahs will suddenly break out this week and play carefree, expansive rugby. This is play-off time, after all.

These are games where the outcome can be determined by one incident - the bounce of a ball, an intercept, a missed tackle, an act of foul play or even a dropped pass.

The Waratahs are likely to remain with the game that brought them to this stage of the competition. They just want to cut down on some of the errors that cost them so dearly in Sydney.

As for the Hurricanes. Despite the heroics of last week, question marks remain over the ability of their tight forwards and their best games came when their backs found form.

Players to watch:

For the Hurricanes: In the backline it will be Ma'a Nonu's strong bursts and Tana Umaga's experience, while hooker Andrew Hore's hard driving will be the key to ensuring the forwards measure up to the standards set by the visitors, coupled with his slabs of beef props- Tialata and Schwalger.

.For the Waratahs: With Mat Rogers at fullback there could be a few more adventurous moves than last week, while Peter Hewat will hope his kicking boots don't desert him as they did last week. Among the forwards you can look to Phil Waugh at the breakdown and Daniel Vickerman in the line-outs as the key components.

Head to head:
Ma'a Nonu (Hurricanes) v Morgan Turinui (Waratahs): You won't find two more powerful midfielders anywhere, unless of course you go back to the days when Jonah Lomu ruled the rugby world. But he did his damage on the wing. Friday's battle could be every bit as brutal as the forward exchanges. Expect both to test the defensive lines regularly.

Prediction:
The Waratahs' whining about the referee's influence on the game suggest they are not as confident as they may want to be. The Hurricanes will be buoyed by last week's result and at home may just have the edge. There won't be more than 10 points in it, but the Hurricanes should take it.

The teams:

Hurricanes:
15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Lome Fa'atau, 13 Ma'a Nonu, 12 Tana Umaga, 11 Shannon Paku, 10 David Holwell, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Rodney So'oialo (captain), 7 Chris Masoe, 6 Jerry Collins, 5 Jason Eaton/Luke Andrews, 4 Paul Tito, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 John Schwalger.

Reserves: 16 Luke Mahoney, 17 Joe McDonnell, 18 Luke Andrews/Ross Kennedy, 19 Thomas Waldrom, 20 Brendan Haami, 21 Jimmy Gopperth, 22 Tamati Ellison

Waratahs:
15 Mat Rogers, 14 Peter Hewat, 13 Morgan Turinui, 12 Sam Norton-Knight, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Daniel Halangahu, 9 Chris Whitaker (captain), 8 Stephen Hoiles, 7 Phil Waugh (vice-captain), 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 4 Alex Kanaar, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Adam Freier, 1 Benn Robinson.

Reserves: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Will Caldwell, 19 David Lyons, 20 Wycliff Palu, 21 Brett Sheehan, 22 Ben Jacobs.

Date: Friday 19 May
Venue: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 19.35 (07.35 GMT)
Conditions: Cloudy periods, showers likely. Dying southerlies. High 12°C, 8°C
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Touch judges: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Tappe Henning (South Africa)
Television match official: JC Fortuin (South Africa)
Assessor: Kim Eichmann (New Zealand)