Fresh face at flyhalf as Crusaders prepare to begin title defence in Hamilton
The Crusaders have named debutant Rivez Reihana at flyhalf as the defending Super Rugby Pacific champions prepare to officially get their new era without Richie Mo’unga underway.
With seven-time Super Rugby Mo’unga leaving New Zealand’s shores to pursue an opportunity in Japan, there were some questions that remained unanswered about the Crusaders.
Well, until now. New coach Rob Penney has named exciting prospect Rivez Reihana to start in the No. 10 jersey for his Crusaders debut on Friday against his old side the Chiefs.
Reihana, 23, is one of two debutants in the Crusaders’ starting side with marquee recruit Levi Aumua also named to run on in the No. 13 jersey.
While the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season opener has been deemed a ‘grand final rematch’ by many, coach Penney isn’t buying into that talk.
“The Chiefs are touting it as a bit of a grudge match, a rematch of the final - we’re not going there with that mentality,” coach Penney said in a statement.
“This is a new season, a new group, and it’s an opportunity for this team to test themselves and see where they’re at, and there’s no better way to do that than Hamilton on a Friday night Round One.”
George Bower, George Bell and Tamaiti Williams have got the nod in the front row while captain Scott Barrett joins Northern Tour skipper Quinten Strange in the second row.
The loose forwards combination of Dom Gardiner, Tom Christie and Cullen Grace is sure to turn a few heads too, with all three men poised for a big year ahead in the red jersey.
Joining Crusaders debutant Reihana in the halves is veteran Mitchell Drummond. The pair will have attacking weapons Dallas McLeod and Levi Aumua at their disposal in the midfield.
Rounding out the starting side is rising star Macca Springer on the left wing, All Black Sevu Reece on the right, and Chay Fihaki out the back.
There is of course no Will Jordan in this team with the All Blacks outside back set to miss the entire season after requiring surgery for a pre-existing shoulder injury.
Capped All Blacks Joe Moody, Owen Franks and Ryan Crotty will all look to provide cover off the bench, as will young halfback Noah Hotham.
The match between the Crusaders and Chiefs at FMG Stadium Waikato will get underway at 7.05pm NZT on Friday night.
Crusaders team to take on Chiefs
- George Bower
- George Bell
- Tamaiti Williams
- Scott Barrett (c)
- Quinten Strange
- Dom Gardiner
- Tom Christie
- Cullen Grace
- Mitchell Drummond
- Rivez Reihana*
- Macca Springer
- Dallas McLeod
- Levi Aumua*
- Sevu Reece
- Chay Fihaki
Reserves
- Quinten MacDonald
- Joe Moody
- Owen Franks
- Jamie Hannah
- Christin Lio-Willie
- Noah Hotham
- Taha Kemara
- Ryan Crotty
* denotes debut
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The prospect of the club match ups across hemispheres is surely appetising for everyone. The reality however, may prove to be slightly different. There are currently two significant driving forces that have delivered to same teams consistently to the latter champions cup stages for years now. The first of those is the yawning gap in finances, albeit delivered by different routes. In France it’s wealthy private owners operating with a higher salary cap by some distance compared to England. In Ireland it’s led by a combination of state tax relief support, private Leinster academy funding and IRFU control - the provincial budgets are not equal! This picture is not going to change anytime soon. The second factor is the EPCR competition rules. You don’t need a PhD. in advanced statistical analysis from oxbridge to see the massive advantage bestowed upon the home team through every ko round of the tournament. The SA teams will gain the opportunity for home ko ties in due course but that could actually polarise the issue even further, just look at their difficulties playing these ties in Europe and then reverse them for the opposition travelling to SA. Other than that, the picture here is unlikely to change either, with heavyweight vested interests controlling the agenda. So what does all this point to for the club world championship? Well the financial differential between the nh and sh teams is pretty clear. And the travel issues and sporting challenge for away teams are significantly exacerbated beyond those already seen in the EPCR tournaments. So while the prospect of those match ups may whet our rugby appetites, I’m very much still to be convinced the reality will live up to expectations…
Go to commentsThe manipulative and cynical Erasmus….
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