The Vodafone Wellington Lions play their final home match of the 2011 season on Thursday night when they host the Southland Stags at Westpac Stadium, kick-off 7.35pm.

The Vodafone Wellington Lions welcome back All Blacks centre Conrad Smith for this match. Smith was one of the senior players left behind from the All Blacks' trip to South Africa where they will meet the Springboks in the weekend. Smith starts at centre in place of Michael Lealava'a, who drops out of the playing 23 for this match. In one other change to the backline, Apoua Stewart replaces Jason Woodward at fullback.

In the forwards there is just one change with Faifili Levave moving to the bench and a loose forward reshuffle that sees Brad Shields move to No. 8 and Dean Brundson start at blindside flanker.

The Stags, who held on to the Ranfurly Shield on Saturday courtesy of a last-gasp try against unlucky challenger North Harbour, currently sit one point ahead of the Lions on the ITM Cup Premiership points table. With three rounds to play including this, both sides will be out to secure bonus point wins in this match and set up a strong finish to their seasons.

Following this match, the Lions meet current leaders Waikato in Hamilton on Tuesday and then North Harbour in Albany next Friday. With eight points currently separating first to last place on the Premiership table and with 15 points still up for grabs, the Lions can still make the final if they win their last three games and other results fall in their favour.

Head-to-head, the Lions are roaring for their tenth straight victory over the Stags on Saturday night.

Their current run of nine straight wins goes back to 2003 and takes in three quarter-final or semi-final clashes. Last year the Lions won 27-14 in Invercargill. The Stags led at halftime but the Lions came back to score 17 unanswered points.

The two teams go into Thursday's clash having met 25 times in the NPC/ITM Cup, with Wellington having now won 19, Southland five and one draw. Overall, they have played each other 91 times since 1896, Wellington having won 61, Southland 23 and with seven draws.

Southland's last victory against the Lions was in 2002 at Invercargill, which saw them prevail 22-20 at home at Invercargill. Southland's last win in Wellington was ten years ago in 2001, beating the Lions 13-10 in their first visit to Westpac Stadium.

The Lions have since won six matches in a row against Southland at Westpac Stadium, in 2003, 2005, 2007 (QF), 2008 (SF), and 2009 (RR an SF). Boosted by two wins of 53-12 and 45-3, the average score from these last six games between the Lions and Southland at Westpac Stadium is 38-11.

In 48 matches played in Wellington in all games between 1896-2009, Wellington have won 37, Southland six, with five draws.

Southland and Wellington first met in the NPC in 1976 and the eventual second-to-last placed finishing Stags defeated the fifth placed finishers Wellington 16-13 at home at Invercargill.

Wellington won 11-3 at Athletic Park in 1977, but Southland again beat Wellington at home in 1978 - 16-7 - one of just two sides to beat Wellington in the year they first won the NPC.

Southland held Wellington to 12-19 in 1979, before another notable clash between the sides in 1980. Wellington finished second to Manawatu that year but there was just a solitary point separating the two at the finish. Southland held the Lions to a 12-12 draw in Invercargill with Allan Hewson having an off day with the boot. If Wellington had won they would've taken the title.

Southland spent some time in the old second division during the 1980s and early 1990s before regularly meeting again from 1997 onwards. Highlights for Wellington against Southland during this period included an eight-try, 54-6 win in 1985 (Bernie Fraser and Mike Clamp two tries each; Neil Sorenson 22 points off the tee) and a 19-point haul for John Gallagher as part of a 39-18 victory in 1986.

Wellington's highest score against Southland was 61-3 in 1999 in their penultimate match ever played on Athletic Park, Jason O'Halloran and Brad Fleming scoring two tries each in the eight-try victory.

Wellington's widest winning margin against the Stags was 60 points (60-0) in 1910, running in 14 tries (today's score equivalent 87-0). 

After seeing off eight challengers earlier in the same year - including Auckland and Taranaki both home and away - Wellington famously took the Ranfurly Shield on tour to the South Island in 1920.  In quick succession they defended it away at Timaru, Dunedin and Invercargill and lost it to Southland in this 11^th and final defence of the year at Invercargill (6-17).

The following season, 1921, Southland returned to Wellington to defend the Ranfurly Shield on the road and Wellington duly won it back of them (28-13). However this second tenure in as many years proved brief as an all-conquering Hawke's Bay captured it off Wellington early in 1922, which started a famous five-year Magpie reign.

There have been 10 instances of a Wellington player scoring three or more tries in a single match against Southland and two occasions of a single player scoring five tries against them.

W.C Elvy (1928) and Ron Jarden (1955) both crossed the tryline five times in one match against Southland, while H.H Dawson (1910) and D.D Wilson (1957) scored four tries. Roy Kinikinilau (2005) is the most recent of six other Wellington players to cross for hat tricks against them.