@Yeetyaah I think Messam's ineligibility had to do with the fact that he had played sevens and came back mid-season. Lousi has been injured and has been contracted to the Canes from the start; he got injured during preseason.

Edit: see this article

Messam was a late addition to the Chiefs' squad this month, after missing selection in the Olympics sevens team. Because he was not part of the original squad of 40, to be eligible for finals matches he had to be in the country from April 1, which he was, but also play four regular season matches. He played two, against the Reds and Highlanders.

I thought Toddy was an excellent forwards coach, but struggled as a head coach. I'd happily see him coaching forwards at any level, he oversaw the development some great forwards.

@Frank You got me :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

@Stargazer Ah so he wasn't in the original Chiefs squad and was seen as a late signing. Fair enough.

The Crusaders are massive favourites for this game and the title. Lots of battlers in that Canes squad, but the gulf in the quality of the tight forwards is enormous.

I wonder if Razor is practising any new moves to include in his victory breakdance once the Crusaders pick up their third title?

@sparky subtle

@sparky presumptuous but justified. If we manage to pull this off I will be shocked

@sparky said in Semi Final 1: Crusaders vs Hurricanes:

The Crusaders are massive favourites for this game and the title. Lots of battlers in that Canes squad, but the gulf in the quality of the tight forwards is enormous.

I wonder if Razor is practising any new moves to include in his victory breakdance once the Crusaders pick up their third title?

All going well he'll do this one, take it from me this is a real crowd pleaser provided you're sober enough to pull it off.

Neutral refs for both games.

Nic Berry the ref for this one. He's been pretty good this year - hopefully more of the same this weekend.

"There's a lot of champion mindsets here with Kieran Read and Sam Whitelock, so that's a big advantage for us," O'Gara said.

ROG hits the nail on the head. It is the mindset that is the big advantage for the Crusaders. Their minds are minds of champions. That's the champion mindset.

@sparky said in Semi Final 1: Crusaders vs Hurricanes:

The Crusaders are massive favourites for this game and the title. Lots of battlers in that Canes squad, but the gulf in the quality of the tight forwards is enormous.

I wonder if Razor is practising any new moves to include in his victory breakdance once the Crusaders pick up their third title?

@Chester-Draws said in Semi Final 1: Crusaders vs Hurricanes:

@Canes4life said in Semi Final 1: Crusaders vs Hurricanes:

The old saying where "forwards win you matches and backs dictate by how much" will most likely determine this scoreline.

It's a stupid saying.

The Crusaders had a magnificent forward pack through the Blackadder years yet didn't win titles because their backs couldn't capitalise on the ball they were given.

We only had Sonny Bill for one of those Blackadder years. I suspect McCaw and Carter had long injury spells during that era also

Fuck this. Canes are going to smoke the saders.

However... I have some conditions...

Entire crusaders squad to have a mare
Every 50/50 (even 70/30) chance goes the Canes way.
Fifita wakes up on Sat morning and suddenly realises he does enjoy hitting rucks and shifting bodies - goes on to deliver on new self image
BB gets 2 intercept tries
JB makes it through the game without having to make a defensive decision
Ben Lam starts smashing fools on D

In the bag!!

@Paekakboyz said in Semi Final 1: Crusaders vs Hurricanes:

@Paekakboyz wakes up

Fixed for you

@taniwharugby dude!! Couldn't you wait till 9.35pm on saturday!

Crusaders

1 Joe Moody
2 Codie Taylor
3 Owen Franks
4 Scott Barrett
5 Sam Whitelock (c)
6 Whetukamokamo Douglas
7 Matt Todd (vc)
8 Kieran Read
9 Bryn Hall
10 Richie Mo'unga
11 George Bridge
12 Ryan Crotty (vc)
13 Jack Goodhue
14 Sevu Reece
15 David Havili

Reserves
16 Andrew Makalio
17 George Bower
18 Michael Alaalatoa
19 Luke Romano
20 Jordan Taufua
21 Mitchell Drummond
22 Mitchell Hunt
23 Braydon Ennor

The BNZ Crusaders are preparing for the Investec Super Rugby Semi Final on Saturday night, and Head Coach Scott Robertson has named an unchanged side from the team that took the field in their 38-14 Quarter Final victory over the Highlanders.

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 BNZ 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.

Hurricanes

15 Jordie Barrett
14 Salesi Rayasi
13 Peter Umaga-Jensen
12 Ngani Laumape
11 Ben Lam
10 Beauden Barrett
9 TJ Perenara
8 Gareth Evans
7 Ardie Savea
6 Reed Prinsep
5 Isaia Walker-Leawere
4 James Blackwell
3 Jeff To'omaga-Allen
2 Dane Coles (c)
1 Toby Smith

Reserves
16 Asafo Aumua
17 Xavier Numia
18 Ben May
19 Kane Le'aupepe
20 Vaea Fifita
21 Richard Judd
22 James Marshall
23 Jonah Lowe

Hugely popular halfback TJ Perenara will become the most capped Hurricanes player when he starts in the Investec Super Rugby semi-final against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday night.

Perenara will go ahead of former Hurricanes team-mates Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith when he makes his 127th appearance, eight seasons after he made his debut against the Stormers in Cape Town.

Since then the 27-year-old has gone on to score 53 tries, including five in 2019, for the Hurricanes, second only to the great Christian Cullen.

He will again partner fellow centurion Beauden Barrett in the inside halves, the 101st time they will combine in those positions.

The pair were instrumental in helping the Hurricanes edge the impressive Bulls 35-28 in their quarter-final win at Westpac Stadium and the performance of the side has prompted head coach John Plumtree to make just one confirmed change to the starting side.

That change is on the wing where Salesi Rayasi replaces Wes Goosen who aggravated a hamstring injury against the Bulls.

The bench features the return of utility forward Vaea Fifita from suspension while James Marshall has recovered from an elbow injury which ruled him out of the quarter-final late. The other change sees Xavier Numia replace Fraser Armstrong.

Plumtree said it was fantastic for Perenara to bring up such an important milestone in such a significant match.

"TJ has been a remarkable player and leader for the Hurricanes for such a long time and we know he shows that every time he goes out with the jersey on," he said.

"He will relish the challenge of going down to play the Crusaders and having a chance to play in a Super Rugby final. As a group we are all excited about the opportunity to go up against a side with such a proven history."

Jonah Lowe ? A few ferners will be delighted !!!!!!!!!!!!!

@cgrant said in Semi Final 1: Crusaders vs Hurricanes:

Jonah Lowe ? A few ferners will be delighted !!!!!!!!!!!!!

More like completely surprised. A Magpie in the staring lineup, a soon to be Magpie in the staring lineup, AND Jonah Lowe on the bench - shit there must have been a lot of injuries this week.

A full strength Crusaders (at least the starting 15 I think) vs an injury depleted Canes. Add in some odd selections from Plumtree (I still don't get his love for Blackwell. Or Princep. Or Lam). then poor defending backs. Esp Lam. But others too. The Canes haven't a hope of winning. If they can keep the score within 30 points it will be a great achievement. It could be a 50+ point thrashing. Hope not but if the Crusaders turn up it could be. They will just walk through the Canes.