VENUE & TIME: AMI Stadium, Christchurch, Saturday March 6, 19.35 NZT.
HEAD TO HEAD: Played 16 – Crusaders 8, Blues 8.
LAST TIME:May 16, 2009 (Auckland) – Blues 13-15 Crusaders.
LAST TIME AT VENUE:April 25, 2008 – Crusaders 26-22 Blues.
MATCH ODDS: NZ TAB (Tuesday): Crusaders $1.22, Blues $4.00.
WALKING WOUNDED: The Crusaders have lost two regulars, Ben Franks (knee) and Thomas Waldrom (Achilles). Richie McCaw returns in a reshuffled loose trio while Owen Franks steps into the run-on XV. The bench also features recovering All Blacks Corey Flynn and Isaac Ross as the Crusaders are nearing full strength. The Blues will be pleased John Afoa's calf problem won't keep him out of the starting lineup and, with Isaia Toeava not ready yet, Rene Ranger holds the centre berth. Peter Saili is also missing this week, with early-season starter Viliame Ma'afu back in the 8 jersey.
FORM:
PAST FIVE Crusaders:
Round 1: Beat Highlanders 32-17
Round 2: Lost to Reds 20-41
Round 3: Beat Sharks 35-6
PAST FIVE Blues:
Round 1: Lost to Hurricanes 22-34
Round 2: Beat Highlanders 19-15
Round 3: Beat Reds 27-18
The Crusaders got back to something like normal service against the Sharks last week, although that scoreline is a little flattering. Yes, the Crusaders applied a lot of pressure for the first hour but it took a three-try flurry in the closing stages to blow the score out and claim a bonus point. That said, the red-and-blacks looked like the real Crusaders and that washed-out (red and grey) mob that was thumped by the Reds was obviously left at Brisbane Customs. The Blues did what the Crusaders could not, and won at Brisbane in difficult conditions. The downpour that made handling all but impossible also allowed the Blues to put all kinds of pressure on the home side in the closing stages as they defended that narrow lead and it was good money to toy stuff that those desperate long-range Reds attacks would end just as they did, with a turnover and a clinching try.
WHO'S HOT: It may have taken the Crusaders a while to get scoreboard return for much effort last week, but the blows came swiftly in the end. Zac Guildford showed he's as adept at scoring tries at Super 14 as he is at Air NZ Cup level, while the whole backline looked far more cohesive than at Brisbane. As usual, the bulk of the work was done up front, where Sam Whitelock continues to grow into this level and the other tightis were strong. Look for the loose trio, featuring two opensides in Richie McCaw and George Whitelock, to be influential this week. The Blues did well to recover from a situation where the match could have been lost in Brisbane and Tony Woodcock – benched last week – made a big impact when he came on. Alby Mathewson played the conditions perfectly and Rene Ranger scored an excellent try to clinch the match. Anthony Boric, who goes up against a number of serious competitors for his All Black place this week, will be asked for maximum effort in what will be a stern test.
WE THINK: Despite those two results at Brisbane in the past two weeks, we're going to call it for the hometown Crusaders in this one. While we expoect