Crusaders coach Robbie Deans is expecting the toughest match so far for his unbeaten team in Friday’s New Zealand Super 14 rugby derby against the Hurricanes in Wellington.
The six-time champions have looked dynamic in winning their first six games of the southern hemisphere provincial series by an average score of 38-10 to lead the tournament by eight points heading to the halfway stage.
But the fifth-placed Hurricanes, with their powerful forward pack and line-breaking backline, are more than capable of denting the Crusaders’ pillaging in this year’s competition.
Not too many teams have got the better of the Crusaders over the years, but the Hurricanes have conquered them three times and drawn once in their 12 encounters and are itching to test themselves against the mighty South Islanders.
”It’s going to be a major challenge, the toughest we’ve had to date,” Deans said on Thursday.
”We’ve had some pretty good games against these blokes over the years and this will be another, I’m sure.”
Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper, a former assistant to Deans at the Crusaders, is relishing the challenge of taking on the competition frontrunners.
”They’re the best and we want to see where we’re at,” Cooper said.
”It’s an exciting challenge. We’ve got good confidence. We’ve got line-breakers in our team who are looking forward to coming up against the best defensive team in the competition.”
The Hurricanes will be seeking their fifth consecutive win after an opening loss to the Waratahs in Sydney and they are coming off the bye after dishing out a record 33-15 defeat to the ACT Brumbies in Canberra.
The Sharks, in second spot, are also coming off the bye and have a home match against the 10th-placed Queensland Reds on Saturday.
Sharks’ coach Dick Muir said he may again use Francois Steyn at flyhalf at the expense of French international Frederic Michalak, while Tongan import Epi Taione has joined the franchise as a hard running loose-forward.
”Rotation plays a big role in our planning and Fred is important for our tour. He is an experienced flyhalf and in any case makes a big impact off the bench,” Muir said.
The Bulls have been a major disappointment this season in defence of their title and have won only two of their six games to lie 11th.
But Auckland coach David Nucifora is wary of the Bulls in Saturday’s match against the third-placed Blues at Eden Park.
”Desperate teams are always more dangerous,” Nucifora said. ”They’ve managed to bring back some handy players and they’ll probably have their strongest team this weekend.”
The Pretoria-based side have brought back Springbok number eight Pierre Spies, who has been out for eight months with a lung problem, while World Cup star Bryan Habana is also likely to return after a shoulder injury.
The Western Stormers, with 11 points from their last three games, can return to Cape Town with the best away result of any South African team in 12 years of Super rugby if they can upset the fourth-placed Western Force in Perth on Friday.
Only the Bulls in their last championship season have won three games in Australasia and if the Stormers can return home with at least 15 points, two more than they have now, they will have the most points of any South African team in Super rugby history in Australasia.
Elsewhere this weekend, the Waratahs host the Cheetahs on Friday and the Waikato Chiefs play the Otago Highlanders in Hamilton on Saturday. — Sapa-AFP