VENUE & TIME: Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, Friday March 12, 5.35pm (AEDT).
HEAD TO HEAD: Played 14 - Chiefs 4, Crusaders 10.
LAST TIME: February 14, 2009 (Christchurch) - Crusaders 19-13 Chiefs.
LAST TIME AT VENUE: April 18, 2008 - Chiefs 18-5 Crusaders.
MATCH ODDS: Luxbet (Thursday): Chiefs $2.35, Crusaders $1.60.
WALKING WOUNDED: Hikawera Elliot is missing from the Chiefs lineup with a hamstring strain, so Aled de Malmanche moves into the starting berth and Vern Kamo takes the bench. Craig Clarke has recovered from his groin strain and returns to the run-on XV. The Crusaders also have one-in, one-out news; Andy Ellis sits this one out after suffering a head knock last week but a recovered Isaac Ross replaces Sam Whitelock in the engine room.
FORM:
PAST FIVE Chiefs:
Round 1: Beat Sharks 19-18
Round 2: Beat Lions 72-65
Round 3: Beat Force 37-19
Round 4: Lost to Reds 18-23
PAST FIVE Crusaders:
Round 1: Beat Highlanders 32-17
Round 2: Lost to Reds 20-41
Round 3: Beat Sharks 35-6
Round 4: Beat Blues 33-20
Both sides have three wins and a loss, with each defeat being a surprise one to the Reds. Two things are suggested by this: first, the Reds are better than for many years and second, the New Zealand sides may both have been guilty of underestimating them. The Chiefs lost their unbeaten record after looking certain to extend it easily; from a dominant 15-0 lead in the first quarter to a deserved 18-23 reverse took some explaining but it can be covered by looking at the handling, which was poor, and the first-up tackling, which was almost non-existent at times. The Crusaders withstood a physical battering early on to give the Blues a lesson in how to win games against rugged opponents. Never backing down from any clash of bodies was point one, and being able to take advantage of the slightest opportunity was point two. The win didn’t come easily but it was good enough to have the seven-time champs sitting a point off the pace.
WHO'S HOT: For quarter of the match, the Chiefs were all over the Reds and the back three, particularly Mils Muliaina and Sitiveni Sivivatu, looked likely to score with every touch. What followed was almost embarrassing and very few Chiefs would have enjoyed the video session, unless they took little or no part in the match. Romana Graham was perhaps the pick of the forwards, but to be blunt he didn’t have a lot to beat. It was different down in Crusader land, where the home side played well – they had to – and several players turned in their best effort of the young season. That group includes flanker George Whitelock, prop Owen Franks and centre Robbie Fruean. Daniel Carter, as ever, was strong and controlled at first-five as well as kicking all seven shots for 18 points. This week Carter should pass Andrew Mehrtens as the Crusaders’ all-time scoring leader – he needs 11 points – and could possibly, with a 20-point night, become the second player to reach 1000 points in Super rugby.
WE THINK: The Chiefs certainly have the ability to dust the Crusaders down this week, but they’d need to improve about a thousand percent on last week’s insipid collapse. We believe the match will be the traditional