Crusaders v Brumbies
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Crusaders
1 Joe Moody
2 Codie Taylor
3 Owen Franks
4 Scott Barrett
5 Quinten Strange
6 Ethan Blackadder
7 Matt Todd (C)
8 Kieran Read
9 Mitchell Drummond
10 Richie Mo'unga
11 Sevu Reece
12 Ryan Crotty (VC)
13 Tim Bateman
14 Will Jordan
15 David HaviliRESERVES
16 Ben Funnell
17 Harry Allan
18 Michael Alaalatoa
19 Sam Whitelock (VC)
20 Jordan Taufua
21 Bryn Hall
22 Brett Cameron
23 Leicester Faingaanuku**Super Rugby debut
The BNZ Crusaders are set to play their first home game in three rounds of Investec Super Rugby, and Head Coach Scott Robertson has named his side for Saturday evening's match against the Brumbies. All Blacks Joe Moody and Owen Franks both return from injury to bolster the front row, meaning Harry Allan and Michael Alaalatoa move to the reserves for this game. At lock, Quinten Strange and Sam Whitelock will swap this week, so that Strange takes the starting spot and Whitelock is on the bench. Matt Todd will Captain the side in the No. 7 jersey. The only other change in the forwards sees Ethan Blackadder earn his first Super Rugby start for 2019, at six. In the backs, Mitchell Drummond is the starting halfback this week and Bryn Hall provides cover on the bench, while Sevu Reece has earned promotion from the bench to start on the left wing against the Brumbies. Tim Bateman lines up at centre in what will be his 50th game for the BNZ Crusaders, while 19 year-old Leicester Faingaanuku is set to debut from the bench. Owen Franks will play his 150th Crusaders game this week (149th Investec Super Rugby game). This Saturday’s match will be the BNZ Crusaders' first opportunity to unite the Christchurch community following the events of 15 March. There will be a moment’s silence before the teams run to field – a poignant gesture of solidarity.
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Hard to see the Brumbies winning this.
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Is Romano injured? Am not sure why they keep on selecting Strange over him. Strange has been very ordinary to date.
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@akan004 I'd guess Romano is heading for retirement after this season (he'll be 34 before next season starts) so they're investing in Strange.
Quite a bit of rotation in that team - I'm a bit surprised with Goodhue being rested that Ennor was also given a rest instead of getting a game at centre. Let's hope that Ryan Crotty doesn't get injured - I'm not that keen to see a Havili/Bateman midfield with Leicester coming on to make his debut. Equally, lets hope Mo'unga doesn't get injured - there's a few backline permutations I don't need to see without a 30 point lead on the board!
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I guess Bridge is still injured. Has anyone read/heard what kind of injury he has (and how serious it is)?
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@Stargazer said in stuff article today about the amount of rotation it was a hamstring injury.
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Brumbies
1 James SLIPPER
2 Josh MANN-REA
3 Allan ALAALATOA
4 Darcy SWAIN
5 Murray DOUGLAS
6 Pete SAMU
7 Tom CUSACK
8 Lachlan MCCAFFREY
9 Joe POWELL
10 Christian LEALIIFANO
11 Toni PULU
12 Irae SIMONE
13 Tevita KURIDRANI
14 Henry SPEIGHT
15 Tom BANKSREPLACEMENTS
16 Connal MCINERNEY
17 Vunipola FIFITA
18 Tom ROSS
19 Sam CARTER
20 Jahrome BROWN
21 Matt LUCAS
22 Jordan JACKSON-HOPE
23 Andy MUIRHEADUNAVAILABLE: Scott SIO (rested), Folau FAINGA’A (rested), Rory ARNOLD (rested), David POCOCK (injured), Ben HYNE (injured), Rob VALETINI (injured), Leslie LEULUAIALII-MAKIN (injured), Lausii TALIAULI (personal)
Academy product Darcy Swain will start his first every Super Rugby match as the Plu500 Brumbies head to Christchurch to tackle the Crusaders in Round 8 of the competition. Swain, who recently signed a new three-year contract to keep him at the Brumbies until at least the end of the 2022 campaign, is one of five new faces in the starting XV for what is sure to be an emotionally charged evening in New Zealand. Those changes include the return to action of jet-heeled winger Toni Pulu, who will be keen to get his Brumbies career off to a belated start, after his debut against the Rebels in Round 1 was truncated by a fractured cheekbone. With Scott Sio, Folau Fainga’a and Rory Arnold rested as part of the Wallabies Rugby World Cup planning, Head Coach Dan McKellar has selected veteran hooker Josh Mann-Rea for his first start of the 2019 season, in a front row that sees the return of Allan Alaalatoa alongside James Slipper. Murray Douglas also begins a Super Rugby match in Brumbies colours for the first time, in a second-row partnership with Swain, with the backrow identical to the one that played against the Reds in Brisbane, Lachlan McCaffrey at number eight, flanked by Tom Cusack and Pete Samu. The back-line, with the exception of the returning Pulu, remains the same as the team that took the field at Suncorp Stadium, Christian Lealiifano leading the side as Captain for the 36th time. Amongst the finishers, there is a potential debut for prop Vunipola Fifita who shone in the Canberra Vikings side that reached the Semi-Final of the National Rugby Championships last year and in Brumbies Runners fixtures in 2019. Hooker Connal McInerney also joins the reserves for the first time in 2019, along with backs Matt Lucas, Jordan Jackson-Hope and wing Andy Muirhead, who scored a tremendous opportunistic try from the unusual position of centre in Canberra Royals Griffin Legal John I Dent Cup match against Queanbeyan Whites.https://www.brumbies.com.au/news/2019/04/04/maiden-start-for-swain-as-alaalatoa_pulu-return
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@Stargazer Hamstring, but doesn't sound too bad. "Not risked" in the attached.
I'm also looking forward to seeing Ethan Blackadder play. He was really excellent last year in the NPC.
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@Chris-B Yeah, I didn't really understand why they picked Tom Sanders over Blackadder in previous games. Blackadder has a lot of potential, although I prefer Taufua to start. I have the impression that they want to play Taufua at 8 more, and use him only as a back-up 6. But with Read back, that means the bench. I think Taufua is a better 8 than 6 anyway, but with Read there, that means fewer minutes.
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@Stargazer Yeah - I'm not sure Ethan quite has the size to be a first choice AB 6 or 8, or the speed to be an AB 7; but he could easily play a sort of Chris Masoe/Ardie role - covering 6 ,7 and 8 off the bench.
He's a very good player - huge engine.
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Saders by 14
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@Machpants said in Crusaders v Brumbies:
Saders by 14
Is that all? Very underwhelming Brumbies side.
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True, 14+ to cover my bases
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Resting both Goodhue and Ennor is something odd. Otherwise, I am quite happy with this lineup. Enari's slowness vs the Tahs has cost him a place on the bench IMO. Saders by 20+.
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So has Mitch Hunt fallen out of favour? Would like to see him leave and have a crack at starting for a side as he has plenty to offer imo.
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@cgrant I don't think Enari has already leapfrogged Drummond in the pecking order. He's just had a few opportunities after Drummond had shocker against the Reds (or maybe because Drummond was injured). Newbies at SR level are carefully managed, at least at the Crusaders (I think it was Brad Moaar who said that in an interview a while ago), so I'd expect him to get opportunities whenever they feel one of the other two needs a rest.
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@African-Monkey I haven't seen anything yet that convinces me that Cameron should be picked over Hunt, but they keep on doing it. Are we missing something?
I'm not even convinced Cameron is SR level, let alone the preferred back-up for Mo'unga, while they have Hunt in the stands.
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Ten minutes in, both teams playing with little urgency off the ball at times.
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Has Whetu Douglas signed with Canterbury for the NPC?
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Google says yes. He signed with them and the Crusaders for two years when he came back
