Crusaders wary of Canes

If you could tie a bell around the neck of one Hurricanes player, Brad Shields would be an excellent candidate.

Hurricanes captain and blindside flanker Shields hasn’t got any All Blacks jerseys hanging in his hallway, one of the reasons he will leave New Zealand later this year to play in England, but he’s got the rough sort of edge that every coach loves.

Keeping eyes clamped on Shields, who has that ability to niggle away at the breakdowns and upset opponents trying to protect or win back ball, makes sense when playing the Hurricanes.

Yes, openside flanker Ardie Savea is an All Black and a fine athlete when carting the ball into space, but guys like Shields and his No 8 Gareth Evans can also cause concern with their rawboned aggression.

Crusaders coach Scott Robertson surely won’t have to unleash a long sermon ahead of the Super Rugby fixture against the Hurricanes in Wellington tonight. Because you either get stuck into these games, or get exposed.

‘‘Ardie and Brad are brutal at the breakdown, and very good players,’’ Robertson said. ‘‘That will be part of the mindset in how the Hurricanes play and that is what we expect. That's what you want when you play the Hurricanes, it is why they are such a good side.’’

History isn’t exactly on the Crusaders side.

They have not won in Wellington since 2012, and their last outing there, a 31-22 loss in the final

round-robin game in 2017, cost them the opportunity to play a home final in Christchurch.

Undaunted, the Crusaders swept past the Highlanders and Chiefs in the quarter and semifinals, prior to travelling to Johannesburg to stun the Lions in the final in front of around 62,000 South Africans.

You would hope there is no spite in this fixture, but it would be presumptuous to assume controversy

will be avoided.

The nature of these New Zealand derbies is that passions surge, and, in the heat of the moment, can get the better of even the mildest of men. ‘‘We are expecting everything,’’ Robertson confirmed.

‘‘The Hurricanes can play, they have world-class players, a great backline and they get some good ball from their forwards. They are

great athletes.’’

The Crusaders’ set-piece creaked against the Stormers last weekend, so it would be safe to assume there’s a desire to add some steel to this feature of their game.

Get that right, contest the Hurricanes’ lineout throws, and there is more chance of minimising the threats of the All Blacks

inside pairing of TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett.

The shock return of openside flanker Matt Todd, despite a fractured thumb, to the Crusaders forward pack ensures they have a genuine fetcher and a man capable of punishing his opponents if support players fail to protect their ball carrier.

Long or short kicks might be

part of first five-eighth Mitch Hunt’s repertoire if he wants to either turn around the Hurricanes backs or has to kick for territory, and accuracy will be paramount; because allowing potent runners such as Jordie Barrett, Ben Lam, Julian Savea and Ngani Laumape extra space to free the arms and give Beauden Barrett room to roam could be catastrophic.

In the past, Robertson has coached with Hurricanes mentor Chris Boyd and his assistant backs coach Jason Holland. Robertson knows what is coming.

‘‘You understand a little bit of their mindset and mentality coming into these games,’’ he said.

‘‘The Crusaders and Hurricanes games have always had a little edge to them.’’