Preview: Reds v Crusaders
Sportal.co.nz - (7/07/2011)
So many personal match-ups for both the Reds and Crusaders, and only 80 minutes for them to be decided – it doesn't seem enough to answer all the questions ahead of Saturday's Investec Super Rugby final in Brisbane.
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HEAD TO HEAD: Played 17 – Reds 5, Crusaders 12
LAST TIME: May 29, 2011 (Brisbane) - Reds 17-16 Crusaders
WALKING WOUNDED: Lock Luke Romano trained with the team on Wednesday after his delayed flight from Cape Town after suffering chicken pox. He has been bracketed with veteran Chris Jack. Halfback Andy Ellis had a worry with his knee and shoulder bruising and was bracketed in the original team named with Kahn Fotuali'i. The Reds have had the rare privilege of fielding their first unchanged team all season.
FORM:
Reds Past Five:
Playoff: Beat Blues 30-13 (h)
Week 18: Beat Chiefs 19-11 (a)
Week 17: Beat Force 24-21 (a)
Week 16: Lost to Brumbies 14-22 (h)
Week 15: Beat Crusaders 17-16 (h)
Crusaders Past Five:
Playoff: Beat Stormers 29-10 (a)
Playoff: Beat Sharks 36-8 (h)
Round 18: Beat Hurricanes 16-9 (h)
Round 17: Beat Blues 23-16 (h)
Round 16: Bye
Round 15: Lost to Reds 16-17 (a)
Not only have the Reds now won their first playoff match in Super Rugby, they will play, and host, their first final. They lost semi-finals after having topped the points tables in 1996 and 1999. The Crusaders became the first side in Super Rugby to defeat an opponent away from home twice in the same season. And in winning a semi-final away, it was the first time that had happened since 2002 and it was the first time since 1999 when a team had won a semi-final in another country. For a team which has achieved so much it is worth remembering the Crusaders are the only side to have won a final overseas – the Brumbies were on the receiving end in 2000. However, on this occasion the Crusaders have a chance to become the first team to have finished third in the regular season to win the title.
WHO'S HOT: Wing Rod Davies can claim to be on fire after becoming the first Red to score a hat-trick of tries in Super Rugby. Quade Cooper was such a dominating force in the semi-final that he proved the game-breaker undoing the Blues three times. Flanker Beau Robinson proved a handful in the loose, but the opposition is a notch or two higher this time around in not only Richie McCaw but Kieran Read and George Whitelock. Dan Carter stepped up in the big-game atmosphere and showed he had not lost his kicking form after a disappointing effort the week before. He goes into the final needing four points to overtake former team-mate Andrew Mehrtens as the leading scorer in Super Rugby finals. He has 54 points. In Cape Town he became the first player to move past 200 points in playoff matches. The other factor in the game will be the Crusaders front five, and the powerful scrummaging unit that has emerged with Wyatt Crockett, Corey Flynn and the Franks brothers, Ben and Owen.
WE THINK: Nerves should not be an issue for either side. The Crusaders have been here before, while the Reds have not shown any sign of nerves at any stage of the season. This is a true final where there are so many fine players in each position on both sides. The closeness of the earlier game between the two, and the fact they are both driven by physical disasters which hit their home areas earlier in the year, gives this final a uniqueness. Either team will be a worthy winner and it could be that yet again crunch games are decided by a mistake at a crucial moment, perhaps conceding a penalty goal, or a dropped goal before the winner is decided. It would be no surprise were a conclusion not reached until extra time had been played. That would also sum up the long, drawn out first season of the 15-team competition. On that basis favouritism may rest on the more consistent goal-kicking of Carter, but it would be in keeping that Cooper found his kicking form in the heat of the contest.
TEAMS:
Reds: 1. Ben Daley, 2. Saia Faingaa, 3. Greg Holmes, 4. Rob Simmons, 5. James Horwill, 6. Scott Higginbotham, 7. Beau Robinson, 8. Radike Samo, 9. Will Genia, 10. Quade Cooper, 11. Digby Ioane, 12. Ben Tapuai, 13. Anthony Faingaa, 14. Rod Davies, 15. Jono Lance.
Reserves: 16. James Hanson, 17. Guy Shepherdson, 18. Adam Wallace-Harrison, 19. Jake Schatz, 20. Liam Gill, 21. Ian Prior, 22. Will Chambers.
Crusaders: 1. Wyatt Crockett, 2. Corey Flynn, 3. Owen Franks, 4. Brad Thorn, 5. Sam Whitelock, 6. George Whitelock, 7. Richie McCaw (c), 8. Kieran Read, 9. Andy Ellis/Kahn Foutali'i, 10. Daniel Carter, 11. Zac Guildford, 12. Sonny Bill Williams, 13. Robbie Fruean, 14. Sean Maitland, 15. Tom Marshall
Reserves: 16. Quentin MacDonald, 17. Ben Franks, 18. Luke Romano/Chris Jack, 19. Matt Todd, 20. Fotuali'i/Willi Heinz, 21. Matt Berquist, 22. Ryan Crotty
REFEREE: Bryce Lawrence