Early action Today.  ITM Cup final from New Zealand at 08:20 – 10:45.

ITM Cup: Final – Canterbury v Waikato shown on Supersport 6 on DSTV in SA.

Stop Robbie Fruean. Easier said than done that. But Waikato know if they don’t they can kiss goodbye their title aspirations when they play Canterbury in the national championship final in Christchurch tonight.

The entire Waikato team is united with those unhappy Fruean’s barnstorming deeds were not acknowledged by the All Blacks selectors last month. An All Blacks call-up for Fruean would have solved Waikato’s biggest headache on the eve of domestic rugby’s showpiece event of the year.

All week the Mooloos have been busy cooking up plans to halt the 22-year-old’s seemingly unstoppable momentum on their team whiteboard. Waikato first five and team tactician Trent Renata said the key was to “cut down his time and space”.

“He is a great player but he’s just like everyone else in the sense he needs time and space to operate,” said Renata, who kicked an extra time conversion against Auckland to qualify Waikato for the final.

“If you take that away from him then you cut down the amount of opportunities he has to hurt you. He is a big man and sucks in a lot of defenders. But if you can get up in his face early then that’s your best chance of tackling him.”

Fruean though is more than just a flat-track bully who thrives when has a head of steam. He can create space himself and opportunities for others, and has an uncanny knack of setting up mismatches in the defensive line, leaving tight forwards floundering when forced to match him for pace.

The result, as Waikato captain and prop Nathan Whites knows, is generally curtains.

“I am certainly not looking to get stuck out there opposite him but if I do then you have to go in nice and low and put him on the deck,” he said.

“He is there go-to man when they need something special. In saying that there is [fullback Sean] Maitland as well. Their whole backline is dangerous from broken play. So it is a matter of being aware of them and making your tackles.”

Like we said, easier said than done.