Todd to lead Crusaders against Bulls

Crusaders head coach Scott Robertson has made four changes to his starting XV to take on the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday.

The big news is that All Blacks openside flanker Matt Todd will captain the side in the absence of second-row Sam Whitelock, who is serving a two-week suspension, and injured All Blacks skipper Kieran Read.

In the forwards, Wyatt Crockett wears the number one jersey this week with Joe Moody providing cover off the bench.

Lock Luke Romano comes into the starting line up to pair up with Scott Barrett, while Quinten Strange comes into the reserves. The loose forward trio will be made up of Pete Samu, Todd and Jordan Taufua, with Heiden Bedwell-Curtis coming into the matchday 23 to provide cover.

In the backs, Mitchell Drummond rotates with Bryn Hall to start at scrum-half this week, and Tim Bateman comes in at inside centre with Ryan Crotty taking a spot on the bench.

The last time these two teams met was also in Pretoria in 2015, and on that occasion the Bulls came away with the win (31-19).

Crusaders: 15 David Havili, 14 Seta Tamanivalu, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Tim Bateman, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Mitchell Drummond, 8 Jordan Taufua, 7 Matt Todd (c), 6 Pete Samu, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Wyatt Crockett
Replacements: 16 Andrew Makalio, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Michael Alaalatoa, 19 Quinten Strange, 20 Heiden Bedwell-Curtis, 21 Bryn Hall, 22 Mitchell Hunt, 23 Ryan Crotty

Date: Saturday, May 6
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 17:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Nic Berry (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Federico Anselmi (Argentina), AJ Jacobs (South Africa)
TMO: Johan Greeff (South Africa)