Super Rugby Preview: Friday

Three sit out Super Rugby action this weekend while there are three outfits left unbeaten going into a cut-down schedule for Round 4.

Three sit out Super Rugby action this weekend while there are three outfits who remain unbeaten going into a cut-down schedule for Round Four.

Rest will be on the minds of the Waratahs, Reds and Bulls, however, the former it seems are still reeling from their defeat to the Crusaders as reports emerged of a training ground bust-up involving trio Drew Mitchell, Al Baxter and Dean Mumm. Surprisingly it was the winger starting on the prop – it's water under the bridge now!

Onto playing matters then and only three teams are still unbeaten going into the fourth round: they are the Sharks, Highlanders and Stormers.

Jamie Joseph's charges have been the surprise package to many but some may highlight the form of Southland during the recent ITM Cup as being a catalyst. Spearheaded by Adam Thomson and on the back of a win at Loftus, they are now in Cape Town to meet an, as yet, unimpressive Stormers.

Elsewhere on Friday and the day kicks-off in Nelson with the improving Crusaders hosting the Brumbies before the Rebels will be looking to home-field advantage to boost their hopes against the Sharks, who seemingly boast the strongest forward pack in 2011.

Crusaders v Brumbies

Arguably the two biggest names in Super Rugby history collide at Trafalgar Park in Nelson on Friday for what is a perfect way to kick-off the Super Rugby weekend.

It cannot be underplayed what their win over the Waratahs will have done for the Crusaders' confidence ahead of meeting a Brumbies outfit that look out of sorts.

Robbie Freuan was the standout performer as his partnership with Sonny Bill Williams was given its first run in Super Rugby while Daniel Carter and a certain openside Matt Todd also put in good efforts. It seems the number seven conveyor belt is working just fine.

Todd retains his place in a pack that sees two changes from last week. Into the line-up come Chris Jack at lock and Ben Franks at tighthead, with Brad Thorn and Owen Franks the ones warming the pine. Head Coach Todd Blackadder has unsurprisingly gone for an unchanged back-line which was in truth a no-brainer.

Meanwhile the Brumbies will be smarting from their most recent defeat to the Reds, which was their first Canberra loss to the Queenslanders since 1996. Off-the-field matters are refusing to go away too as the Andy Friend aftermath has now seen Adam Ashley-Cooper come out saying he's 'upset' at being labelled as the man who pushed his former boss out of the job. The subject is an unwanted sideshow.

And for that and other reasons it could turn into a tough day at the office for the Aussies in Nelson, with the 'Saders expected to kick on from beating the 'Tahs.

Prediction: Too much class for the Brumbies. Crusaders by 16!

The teams:

Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Adam Whitelock, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read (capt), 7 Matt Todd, 6 George Whitelock, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Chris Jack, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Corey Flynn , 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Owen Franks, 18 Brad Thorn, 19 Jonathan Poff, 20 Willi Heinz, 21 Matt Berquist, 22 Tom Marshall.

Brumbies: 15 Pat McCabe, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Robbie Coleman, 11 Francis Fainifo, 10 Matt Giteau (capt), 9 Josh Valentine, 8 Ita Vaea, 7 Colby Faingaa, 6 Mitch Chapman, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Ben Hand, 3 Dan Palmer, 2 Steve Moore, 1 Ben Alexander.
Replacements: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Salesi Ma'afu, 18 Peter Kimlin, 19 Julian Salvi, 20 Patrick Phibbs, 21 Matt Toomua, 22 Christian Lealiifano.

Date: Friday, March 11
Kick-off: 19:35 (06:35 GMT)
Venue: Trafalgar Park, Nelson
Referee: Garratt Williamson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
Television match official: Kane McBride (New Zealand)

Melbourne Rebels v Sharks

On paper life doesn't get much easier for the Rebels when they meet the league leaders at AAMI Stadium. However, their vocal support might just play a factor.

We saw and heard how the Melbourne public lifted their newly-adopted side to victory over the Brumbies two weeks ago so why shouldn't that happen again? Granted the Sharks have shown enough so far to counter that out-there statement as their blend of bulk and pace in the pack allows their Pat Lambie-led back-line to function. But without the guile and directness of an injured Springbok winger JP Pietersen, we have a sneaking suspicion that this will be closer than many think.

Melbourne are still finding their feet in Super Rugby and from the 30-minute mark were outplayed by the Chiefs last weekend. But as mentioned, home field vocal support has already impressed us so expect their showing to be lifted when they run out against what might a travelling Sharks, who are hit-and-miss on the road.

Speaking of the Durbanites, they are boosted by Odwa Ndungane being declared fit to start on the right wing following that tackle by Rory Sidey. Elsewhere and Ryan Kankowski returns to the starting line-up after being a late exclusion last weekend and will be one to watch.

Prediction: Another soap-opera win at AAMI Stadium? Nah, Sharks by 8!

The teams:

Melbourne Rebels: 15 Mark Gerrard, 14 Lachlan Mitchell, 13 Stirling Mortlock (c), 12 Julian Huxley, 11 Cooper Vuna, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Gareth Delve, 7 Michael Lipman, 6 Jarrod Saffey, 5 Kevin O'Neill, 4 Al Campbell, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Ged Robinson, 1 Nic Henderson.
Replacements: 16 Heath Tessmann, 17 Laurie Weeks, 18 Hugh Pyle, 19 Tim Davidson, 20 Richard Kingi, 21 Afusipa Taumoepeau, 22 Luke Rooney.

Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Stefan Terblanche, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 John Smit (capt), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Anton Bresler, 19 Jacques Botes, 20 Conrad Hoffmann, 21 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22 Adrian Jacobs.

Date: Friday, March 11
Kick-off: 19:40 (08:40 GMT)
Venue: AAMI Stadium
Referee: Chris Pollock
Assistant referees: James Leckie (Australia), Andrew Lees (Australia)
Television match official: Matt Goddard

Stormers v Highlanders:

It is difficult to assess where the Stormers are right now. Early-season rustiness is one possible reason for their stuttery form going into Round Four, but unfortunately for supporters in Cape Town, there seems to have been something missing from their side's game during their first two fixtures.

The return of Gio Aplon to full-back should boost their cause against an in-form Highlanders outfit, who will fancy