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Cape Town - Saturday's Super Rugby final against the Lions in Wellington will be a momentous occasion for veteran Hurricanes wing Cory Jane.
The 33-year-old, who has made more than 100 appearances for the Hurricanes, is set to play in his first final after missing last year's playoff campaign through injury.
The Hurricanes' first appearance in a final happened in 2006 which was a year before Jane's debut for the Wellington-based franchise so Jane is excited by the prospect of this weekend's encounter at Westpac Stadium.
"Hopefully I still get picked," Jane told Fairfax Media.
That he will be in the Hurricanes' matchday squad is a given as Jane has done well throughout their campaign. Apart from impressing in doing his usual wing duties, he has been at the forefront of his team's defensive effort with his communication skills playing a key role.
That has had the desired results as it has been 221 minutes since the Hurricanes conceded a try.
"When the team talk about John [Plumtree] - obviously he's our defensive coach - and when the paper or TV talk about how well he's doing I get a little bit of satisfaction there too, because I'm behind the scenes helping him out there as well," added Jane, who is off to Japan after signing a two-year contract with Toshiba although he will return to the Hurricanes in 2017.
"We changed our defensive structure from what it was last year and even [from] game one [this season] to what it is now. [We're] slowly getting better and better at it and I think the boys are believing in it too, which is cool.
"Teams are trying to unlock it and when we don't quite get it right teams can put points on us. But at the moment the boys are working hard for each other and we're putting pressure on the opposition."
