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Super Rugby braces for 'Barrett v Cruden'

Cape Town - Two of the world's most exciting flyhalves will meet on Friday when Beauden Barrett of the Hurricanes and Aaron Cruden of the Chiefs lock horns in Waikato. 

Both sides have collected maximum points from their first two matches of the season, and this clash is undoubtedly the main event of the Super Rugby weekend. 

Cruden is jetting off to Montpellier at the end of the season on a huge money deal that will rule him out of All Black contention, meaning this could be one of the last times we get to see him and Barrett squaring off. 

"Aaron has been playing really well in the first two weeks. He's obviously a very important cog in their wheel. He obviously wants to leave New Zealand on a good note and he's started off strong this year," Barrett told Kiwi talk show The Crowd Goes Wild

"I respect him a lot as a player but when it comes to personal match-ups you don't read too much into it because we hardly ever butt heads in a game. It's more about how we run our teams, but it's a good challenge.

"This week is obviously a big test for us to see where we're at, but if we compare it to this time, last year I think we're in a much better place.

"Our shape is a lot better and our defence ... we know what works for us."

Friday's match kicks off at 08:35 (SA time).

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