The Crusaders have been bolstered by the return of veteran All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor for their Super Rugby Pacific encounter against the Blues in Christchurch on Friday.
Taylor returns to action after missing the Crusaders’ victory over the Hurricanes in Wellington last week due to a concussion sustained in the Round Eight win over the Fijian Drua in Suva.
The 34-year-old comes into the run-on side at the expense of Ioane Moananu as Crusaders head coach Rob Penney makes two alterations to his run-on side, with the other change seeing Antonio Shalfoon replacing Jamie Hannah at lock.
Taylor is joined in the Crusaders‘ front-row by fellow All Blacks Fletcher Newell and Tamaiti Williams, who are the starting props, while New Zealand captain Scott Barrett packs down alongside Shalfoon in the second-row.
The starting pack is completed by Christian Lio-Willie, who slots in at number eight and he will have Ethan Blackadder and Cullen Grace joining him in the back-row.
David Havili ruled fit
The Crusaders have also received a shot in the arm with the news that their captain David Havili has been declared fit and will start at inside centre in a solid-looking midfield with Levi Aumua.
Havili has been struggling with an Achilles injury, which kept him on the sidelines for a couple of matches earlier in the Super Rugby Pacific season and he was also forced off in the win over the Hurricanes after 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, Will Jordan continues at full-back with Chay Fihaki and Sevu Reece lining up as the two wingers while Taha Kemara and Noah Hotham are the starting half-backs.
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Moananu, George Bower, Kershawl Sykes-Martin, Hannah and Corey Kellow will be the forward replacements while Kyle Preston, James O’Connor and Dallas McLeod will offer backline cover off the bench.
The Crusaders are currently sitting pretty at the top of the table while their arch rivals Blues, who are the defending champions, are languishing in ninth place.
The men from Auckland have shown some improvement in recent weeks after clinching successive victories over the Hurricanes and Moana Pasifika and Penney is not underestimating the Crusaders’ old foes.
“They’ve got themselves into a position where they’re still in control of their own destiny, so it’ll be another good match up,” he said.
Crusaders team to face the Blues
Crusaders: 15 Will Jordan, 14 Chay Fihaki, 13 Levi Aumua, 12 David Havili (c), 11 Sevu Reece, 10 Taha Kemara, 9 Noah Hotham, 8 Christian Lio-Willie, 7 Ethan Blackadder, 6 Cullen Grace, 5 Antonio Shalfoon, 4 Scott Barrett, 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tamaiti Williams
Replacements: 16 Ioane Moananu, 17 George Bower, 18 Kershawl Sykes-Martin, 19 Jamie Hannah, 20 Corey Kellow, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 James O’Connor, 23 Dallas McLeod
Date: Friday, April 18
Venue: Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch
Kick-off: 19:05 local (08:05 BST, 07:05 GMT)
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Jordan Way (Australia), Matt Kellahan (Australia)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
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