Todd back; Romano dropped
Matt Todd is back, but Luke Romano has again been unable to crack the Crusaders side to face the Lions in Johannesburg on Monday morning (NZT).
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson declared openside flanker Todd has fully recovered from the rib complaint that resulted in him being ruled out of last weekend’s 33-14 over the Bulls, but fellow All Black and lock Romano wasn’t required for this Super Rugby fixture at Ellis Park.
Rather than call upon Romano, who has played 31 tests since 2012, Robertson has elected to invest his faith in the uncapped Quinten Strange, who has played nine games for the Crusaders, as bench cover for All Blacks Sam Whitelock and Scott Barrett.
"Quinten Strange has been exceptional for us, and we are giving the young fellow a chance to play," Robertson said.
"It was a tough decision, but we felt Quinten has been performing."
Romano, 32, has made four appearances this season and started in two of them, but Strange was preferred on the bench for the Bulls match in Christchurch and Robertson is backing the latter to help provide maximum energy off the bench at around 1750m above sea level.
"You need a strong bench, in the context of the game. We know how strong the Lions are in the last 20 minutes up here on the veldt.
‘‘They win a lot of games in that time and score a lot of tries. They are just used to running with no air in their lungs."
Two other changes have been to the side that beat the Bulls in Christchurch.
Right wing Seta Tamanivalu has recovered from a minor groin problem, and Bryn Hall swaps places with Mitchell Drummond at halfback.
The reserves bench has been boosted by the return of veteran first five-eighth Mike Delany, who has recovered from a knee injury.
When the Crusaders walk through the Ellis Park gates for their captain’s run, they will be struck by a flood of happy memories.
The team’s last outing at the famous ground, regarded by many as the most intimidating of rugby venues in South Africa, resulted in a 25-17 win over the Lions in the Super Rugby final on August 5, and put an end to the Crusaders’ eight-year title drought.
Robertson couldn’t have dreamed of a better way to start his reign as boss last year, and the images of him standing on the sideline as he waited for referee Jaco Peyper to blow fulltime in the final minutes of the final portrayed how much it meant for the exfoundation player to guide his team to success.
Peyper, too, will be back in familiar territory this weekend.
The South African has been
asked to control the fixture, and he, like the players, won’t forget the most controversial moment that swung the result in favour of the Crusaders.
Because it was Peyper who made the decision to red card Lions flanker Kwagga Smith for taking Crusaders fullback David Havili out in the air in the first half, and when the home side roared back at the New Zealanders late in the game they would dearly have loved to have had their full quota of players. Hooker Codie Taylor accepts the Lions will be out to extract some revenge.
‘‘Quinten Strange has been exceptional for us, and we are giving the young fellow a chance to play.’’ Scott Robertson