It tough to make a call of which is the game of the weekend when the Super 14 starts tomorrow. I know many in South Africa are looking forward to the Stormers – Sharks game but then again there is a big one taking place in New Zealand between the Crusaders and the Chiefs on Saturday. The Chiefs seem to be the dark horses of New Zealand with many not thinking they will do well but they could surprise us all. The starting lineups for both teams have been named for this clash on Saturday, let’s take a closer look at them and see if we can predict as best as we can how this result will go based on the starting XV’s.

Crusaders – 15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Jared Payne, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Tim Bateman, 11 Kade Poki, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Andy Ellis; 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Kieran Read, 5 Ross Filipo, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Wyatt Crockett. Subs: 16 Jason Macdonald, 17 Bronson Murray, 18 Isaac Ross, 18 George Whitelock, 20 Kahn Fotuali’i/Steve Alfeld, 21 Stephen Brett, 22 Adam Whitelock.

Chiefs – 15 Mils Muliaina (c), 14 Lelia Masaga, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Dwayne Sweeney, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Sione Lauaki, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Kevin O’Neill, 4 Craig Clarke, 3 Ben May, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Sona Taumalolo. Subs: 16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 James McGougan, 18 Toby Lynn, 19 Colin Bourke, 20 Toby Morland, 21 Mike Delany, 22 Callum Bruce.

We all know the Crusaders have lost Dan Carter and many of us expected Steve Brett to take over the number 10 jersey but Todd Blackadder has opted for young Colin Slade at flyhalf ahead of Brett. The 21 year old Slade will be making is Super Rugby debut and what a why to start: against Stephen Donald who right now is the first choice All Black flyhalf. With the way Canterbury has produced number 10′s over the years, I will not be surprised at all if Slade has a cracker of a game and gets 20 odd points!

With all the loss in players the Crusaders have, let’s not forget they still have the likes of McDonald at the back, Ellis at 9, ‘Big’ Brad Thorn at lock and offcourse Richie at 7. And they are playing at home which is always a big bonus.

Looking at the Chiefs: the names are there. Lead by Mils Muliaina from the back, the backline comprises of All Blacks galore; Donald, Kahui, Sivivatu and Leonard. It is in the tight five the Chiefs will struggle and thus the reason I see the Crusaders beating them. The Chiefs forwards coach has admitted they are not strong upfront. “They say we might have a Ferrari from six to 15 but we’ve got an unknown engine up in front of them, so it’s up to the tight five to prove we’re worthy and get them ball,” Stevenson told the Waikato Times.

All in all, I expect a great game on Saturday between the two. My money is on the Crusaders to edge this one.



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