Ellis back for battle of the Bull ring
The return of scrumhalf Andrew Ellis is the only change to the Crusaders starting XV for the crunch Super 14 encounter with the defending champion Bulls in Pretoria on Friday.
The return of scrumhalf Andrew Ellis is the only change to the Crusaders starting XV for the crunch Super 14 encounter with the defending champion Bulls in Pretoria on Friday.
However, coach Robbie Deans has also made three changes to his replacement bench – drafting in Reuben Thorne, Hamish Gard and Caleb Ralph.
Ellis comes in for Kahn Fotuali'i, who drops to the bench.
Thorne, Gard and Ralph have replaced Michael Paterson, Tim Bateman and Sean Maitland respectively.
Ellis featured off the bench during the opening round 34-3 win over the Brumbies, having made a rapid rehabilitation after sustaining an ankle injury during the pre-season fixture against the Hurricanes at Motueka last month.
Thorne's selection represents the culmination of a process to overcome a calf strain which marred his pre-season preparation, while Ralph's greater experience has seen him leap-frog the younger Maitland after he was omitted from last week's side.
The changes mean the Crusaders squad contains four players who have appeared in over 100 matches for the franchise.
On the other side of the ledger, Gard and young loose forward Nasi Manu will both be making their Super 14 debuts if they are involved.
“We were happy with what was achieved against the Brumbies and our selection for this weekend reflects that,” Deans said.
“Obviously Friday is going to be a huge occasion so we are looking to utilize all of our experience to deal with that. The changes we've made certainly don't represent any dissatisfaction at all with what the players who've missed out for this game contributed against the Brumbies.”
Deans says he and assistant-coach Mark Hammett are pleased with the way the team has settled into its Centurion base, on the out-skirts of Pretoria, after arriving in South Africa on Sunday.
“We've had a couple of good hit-outs since we've been here, and the players have travelled well,” he said.
“The travel side of the competition can be a bit of a juggling act at times, especially around the South African leg, but we feel – at this stage anyway – that we've handled it about as well as we can.”
Incredibly, given the Crusaders' legacy of consistent selection throughout the Super Rugby era, just seven of the players who features in the starting XV for the This Second Round tie also started against the Bulls nine months ago during the 12-27 semi-final loss at the same venue.
The seven survivors are Leon MacDonald, Casey Laulala, Daniel Carter, Mose Tuiali'i, skipper Richard McCaw, Corey Flynn and Ben Franks.
Crusaders: 15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Kade Poki, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Stephen Brett, 11 Scott Hamilton, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Andrew Ellis, 8 Mose Tuiali'i, 7 Richard McCaw (captain), 6 Kieran Read, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Ben Franks.
Replacements: 16 Ti'i Paulo, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Reuben Thorne, 19 Nasi Manu, 20 Kahn Fotuali'i, 21 Hamish Gard, 22 Caleb Ralph.
Date: Friday, 22 February
Venue: Loftus versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 20.00 (18.05 GMT)
Referee: Matt Goddard (Australia)
Touch judges: Stuart Dickinson (Australia) JC Fortuin (South Africa)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Assessor: Banks Yantolo (South Africa)