At 22 years of age, former Blues playmaker Jock McKenzie has broken a long-lasting Auckland sporting record.
The Crusaders have often struggled without Richie Mo'unga at flyhalf.
One-test All Blacks star Josh Ioane will sit out Otago's Mitre 10 Cup clash against Northland on Friday after breaching team protocol.
Richard Cockerill inherited a disparate and unreliable squad with little discernible culture but winning PRO14 derbies will see Edinburgh taken seriously.
Elsewhere in the Champions Cup, a Jackson Willison try was not enough for Bath, which fell 19-25 at home to Harlequins.
Owen Franks and Matt Proctor have made winning starts to their Northampton Saints’ careers.
Worcester started their European Challenge Cup campaign by running in nine tries in a 57-14 rout of Russian club Enisei-STM.
Wellington Lions head coach Chris Gibbes sees plenty of potential in the 2019 squad which has been bolstered by a number of All Black's and an Italian international ahead of the start of the Mitre 10 Cup next month.
The Blues have named one of their star new men to start in their final pre-season clash against the Hurricanes on Saturday.
Hurricanes head coach John Plumtree has named a 38-strong squad for Saturday night's Super Rugby preseason match against the defending champion Crusaders.