Crusaders Super rugby head coach Scott Robertson has named an unchanged team to play the Hurricanes on Saturday in Christchurch.
The Crusaders beat the Highlanders 38-14 in their Super rugby quarter-final and Robertson has kept his faith in the team from last week.
The match day side includes 27-year old loose forward Jordan Taufua, who has been named on the bench for this game in what will be his 100th appearance for the Crusaders. Tim Perry, who was ruled out of last week’s Quarter Final, is once again unavailable for this match due to an arm injury.
Robertson said the team has shown the Hurricanes plenty of respect with their preparation for the Semi-Final: “We’ve really enjoyed this week, the group came in excited to have earned another opportunity to play at home, and we’ve prepared accordingly for this quality Hurricanes side. They’re well-coached, with genuine attacking threats across the park, so we know there is a massive challenge ahead of us this weekend.
“We’re also really proud of Jordan, who’ll become the 18th Crusader to play 100 games for the club. He’s been a loyal Crusader for a number of years now and sharing this milestone with him on Saturday night will certainly add to the occasion for our squad and our fans.
“The game has been well supported, and we’re going to need every single one of our fans to get behind this team on Saturday night – we look forward to seeing them there in numbers!” Robertson said.
Crusaders
15 David Havili, 14 Reece, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Bryn Hall, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Matt Todd, 6 Whetukamokamo Douglas, 5 Sam Whitelock (captain), 4 Scott Barrett, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements: 16 Andrew Makalio, 17 George Bower, 18 Michael Alaalatoa, 19 Luke Romano, 20 Jordan Taufua, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 Mitchell Hunt, 23 Braydon Ennor
