Benched Carter begins comeback
May 08 2008
There are five changes to the Crusaders starting XV, including the return of star pivot Dan Carter for the trip to Brisbane to play the Reds on Saturday.
Scrum-half Kahn Fotuali'i, number eight Mose Tuiali'i, lock Ross Filipo, hooker Ti'i Paulo and prop Wyatt Crockett have also been elevated into the starting line-up for the penultimate round of the Super 14.
The significant change sees All Black fly-half Carter named on the bench which will start his comeback to competitive rugby from the high ankle sprain he sustained against the Hurricanes in Wellington on March 28.
Fotuali'i, who gains his sixth cap and second career start, has not featured for the Crusaders since coming off the bench during the 34-7 win over the Waratahs on Good Friday.
Tuiali'i is reinstated to the back of the scrum, after starting from the bench during last Friday's 18-10 win over the Sharks because of a disrupted build-up to that game due to a minor lower back ailment. The powerful number eight played the second half of the win over the Sharks.
Filipo makes his return to the run on side for the first time since last year's semi-final loss at Loftus Versfeld to the Bulls.
The 2007 All Black was the joint leading forward try-scorer in last year's competition, but was forced to make a belated start to the 13th Crusade due to neck surgery.
As a result, he has so far been restricted to two appearances off the bench during the campaign.
While Paulo and Crockett have been regular members of the matchday squad, Saturday will be just their third and fourth starts of the campaign respectively.
"The changes are about keeping everyone fresh, but they are also rewarding some players who have been making a big contribution towards the team's welfare and performance that hasn't always been seen by the public, in terms of their involvement on the field," said Crusaders coach Robbie Deans.
"We are not for a second underestimating the Reds. Queensland has always been a hard opponent - especially over there. The current side has been playing well too, without a lot of luck over recent weeks."
Deans echoed the sentiments made public by Crusaders skipper Richie McCaw at the weekend, when McCaw said it was critical that the team continued to build momentum during the last two weeks of the round robin, after faltering at this stage of the last campaign.
Carter will be joined on the bench in Brisbane by starting regulars: hooker Corey Flynn, prop Ben Franks, lock Ali Williams and halfback Andrew Ellis; as well as loose forward George Whitelock, who steps in for Nasi Manu.
Deans says the 19-year-old Manu has earned a break, after starting last week against the Sharks, and featuring in all but the first game played by the Crusaders this year.
On Carter, Deans acknowledged that his match conditioning had been compromised by the month-long layoff.
He said it was important to get the player back involved, in order to advance his preparation for the weeks ahead.
"Physically he's ready to return but, by bringing him back via the bench, we'll ease him back in slowly," said Deans.
"Given that he's been out of action for a month, and has only had two training sessions this week to get back into it with the team again, it's important that we don't load him up with too much too quickly."
Crusaders: 15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Kade Poki, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Tim Bateman, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Stephen Brett, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Mose Tuiali'i, 7 Richard McCaw (c), 6 Kieran Read, 5 Ross Filipo, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Ti'i Paulo, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Corey Flynn, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Ali Williams, 19 George Whitelock, 20 Andrew Ellis, 21 Daniel Carter, 22 Caleb Ralph.
Date: Saturday, May 10
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-off: 19:40 (10:40 BST, 09:40 GMT)
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Touch judges: Petri Bosch (South Africa), Shaun Moore (Australia)
Television match official: Steve Leszczynski (Australia)
Assessor: Andrew Cole (Australia)