Chiefs all set to take on Crusaders – Rugby Preview
Chiefs currently placed at the 11th position in the combined Super XV standing will be hosting the Canterbury Crusaders.
Both teams before the Friday’s game have played with each other for 15 times in super rugby competition. In these encounters, it was Crusaders who have dominated over the Chiefs, as the Chiefs were only able to win just three games out of the 15 both teams
played since 1996.
Two of the three wins for Chiefs came from the five games both teams have played since 2006. Chiefs break the Crusaders eight-match consecutive wins record when they beat the Crusaders 30- 24 in 2007.
They followed up their performance during the second year as for the first time in the history Chiefs were able to record victory in two consecutive games again against the Crusaders. In 2008, final scorecard read 18-5 in favour of Chiefs. In the past two
years, Crusaders ended on the winning side as they defeated chiefs 19-13 in 2009 and 26-19 in 2010.
Crusaders so far have won five of their seven matches during Super XV and have lost a single game, coming early in the season. Crusaders although would be without their star Fly Half Dan Carter who is out for two weeks due to hamstring injury, however they
had the enough strength to overcome the Chiefs challenge.
All Black Captain Richie McCaw has also been named on the bench as he recovers from the ankle injury. This is the first time that McCaw will play for Crusaders in the Super XV. Dan Carter is the Top scorer for the Crusaders as he scored 84 points however,
his replacement Matt Berquist seems to be filling in his role satisfactorily. Crusaders will be also be counting on Dagg and Maitland for most of the scoring and moves as they have done so far in the season.
Chiefs on the other hand have a huge task ahead of them to contain the Crusaders who are cruising along nicely in the Super XV with five wins in a row. While Chiefs are struggling with the injuries, the good news is that their captain Mils Muliaina has recovered
from the injury and will be the part of the starting line-up after almost four weeks. His return has boosted the Chiefs and he did not write off his team against the Crusaders clash.
Regarding his chances of win, Muliaina commented, “We're always up for the big ones and hopefully we can get the right result we need, because we desperately need it.”
Keeping in view the teams recent performances and form, Crusaders are favourites to win the game. However, Crusaders would love to earn bonus point to put themselves on top of the Super XV combined table.
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