Crusaders call on Carter
Thu, 08 May 2008 09:13
Crusaders flyhalf Dan Carter has recovered from his ankle injury and will take his place on the bench in a Round 13 Super 14 clash against the Reds in Brisbane on Saturday.
Stephen Brett is retained at No.10 for the game with coach Robbie Deans explaining that he didn't want to rush the star All Black straight back into the starting team after a lengthy lay-off.
"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," stressed Deans.
All in all there are five changes to the starting XV that beat the Sharks 18-10 last week.
Scrumhalf Kahn Fotuali'i, No.8 Mose Tuiali'i, lock Ross Filipo, hooker Ti'i Paulo and prop Wyatt Crockett have all been elevated into the starting line-up for the penultimate round of the Super 14.
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 re-instated to the back of the scrum, after starting from the bench during last Friday.
Filipo makes his return to the run on side for the first time since last year's semifinal loss at Pretoria. 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 match day 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 Robbie Deans.
"We are not for a second underestimating the Reds. Queensland has always been a hard opponent - especially over there [in Brisbane]. The current side has been playing well too, without a lot of luck over recent weeks," added Deans.
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 Richie McCaw (captain), 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 (09.40 GMT)
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Touch judges: Petri Bosch (South Africa), Shaun Moore (Australia)
Television match official: Steve Leszczynski (Australia)
