Flanker will have to wait
Wallaby Pete Samu has been named to take his place in tomorrow’s Super Rugby final against the Lions in Christchurch but the Crusaders loose forward is surprisingly only on the bench despite Jordan Taufua’s broken arm.
Samu came off the bench and played the majority of the Crusaders’ 30-12 semifinal win over the Hurricanes last weekend after blindside flanker Taufua was forced off the field.
It was assumed the 26-year-old would therefore get the nod to start in the title decider but Crusaders coach Scott Robertson has instead opted for Heiden Bedwell-Curtis in the No 6 jersey.
Bedwell-Curtis wasn’t even on the Crusaders bench for the semifinal.
Melbourne-born Samu will join the Brumbies next season and made his test debut against Ireland in June.
Meanwhile, the Lions are preparing for what they admit is the toughest challenge in Super Rugby by staying up late and sleeping in.
They also say they are blessed to be playing the Crusaders in Christchurch and that it is an honour to be here.
On the face of it that strategy and attitude doesn’t sound like a winner, but the men from Johannesburg have arrived in the south for their third consecutive final with a quiet confidence.
They respect hugely what is in effect an All Blacks team in disguise but are determined to put lessons learned into practice tomorrow. For a team — a brotherhood, they say have achieved a huge amount in a short time. But a grand final win still escapes them.
To inflict a first ever home finals defeat on the Crusaders would be the rugby upset of the year, but expectations are so low here and at home that they really do have nothing to lose.
The late nights and sleep-ins is a strategy to combat jetlag which they have used before — most recently before the round-robin game against the Waratahs in Sydney.
And the respect talked about after coach Swys de Bruin announced his side isn’t contrived; rather, it is truly felt and nothing other than a fulloctane performance against the defending champions would do that justice, they feel.
“They’re a very good team and they deserve to be in first place, so congratulations to them,” de Bruin said of the Crusaders at his team’s inner city hotel. “We’ll have to bring our A-game and more. Apart from that we have a huge respect for them and what they stand for and how they play. It will be an honour for us to play against them.”
■ The teams for the Super Rugby final at AMI Stadium on Saturday, kick-off 7.35pm are:
Lions: Andries Coetzee, Ruan Combrink, Lionel Mapoe, Harold Vorster, Courtnal Skosan, Elton Jantjies, Ross Cronje, Warren Whiteley, Cyle Brink, Kwagga Smith, Franco Mostert, Marvin Orie, Ruan Dreyer, Malcolm Marx, Jacques van Rooyen.
Reserves: Corne Fourie, Dylan Smith, Johannes Jonker, Lourens Erasmus, Marnus Schoeman, Dillon Smit, Aphiwe Dyantyi, Howard Mnisi.
Crusaders: David Havili, Seta Tamanivalu, Jack Goodhue, Ryan Crotty, George Bridge, Richie Mo’unga, Bryn Hall, Kieran Read, Matt Todd, Heiden Bedwell-Curtis, Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett, Owen Franks, Codie Taylor, Joe Moody.
Reserves: Sam Anderson-Heather or Andrew Makalio, Tim Perry, Michael Alaalatoa, Luke Romano, Pete Samu, Mitchell Drummond, Mitchell Hunt, Braydon Ennor.