Jack Goodhue wins centre battle as Crusaders name strong side for quarter-final
The Crusaders will roll out a strong starting line-up boasting 12 internationals in their quarter-final clash with the Reds this weekend.
Unsurprisingly, Codie Taylor and Richie Mo'unga have been reinstated to the run-on side after missing last weekend's 28-15 win against the same opposition while Jack Goodhue - who has made just four appearances since last April due to an ACL injury - has won the battle with Braydon Ennor to wear the No 13 jersey.
In the front row, Taylor will combine with George Bower and Oli Jager after a minor rib injury kept the senior hooker out of last Friday's encounter.
It's an all All Blacks affair in the second row with the experienced partnership of Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock teaming up for the fifth time in 2022 and the second week in a row while last Friday's loose forward trio of Argentinian international Pablo Matera, and NZ representatives Ethan Blackadder and Cullen Grace has also been retained.
Bryn Hall will make a return in the No 9 jersey after withdrawing late from last weekend's victory due to a back strain and will combine with Mo'unga in the halves.
In the midfield, Havili has retained his spot at second five-eighth - for his 12th start of the season - and will link up with Goodhue for the third time this year. Braydon Ennor will cover the midfield from the bench.
In-form outside backs Leicester Fainga'anuku, Sevu Reece - who has recovered from a head knock - and Will Jordan have all held their places from last weekend while George Bridge is set to add impact from the bench.
All together, coach Scott Robertson has made just four changes to the starting line-up for this Friday's fixture, with all four of those changes seeing experienced players return to the run-on side and take their regular positions in the team.
In the reserves, Finlay Brewis is joined by Brodie McAlister and Fletcher Newell as front-row cover while Zach Gallagher and Tom Christie will back-up the rest of the forwards. Mitchell Drummond, Ennor and Bridge round out the 23.
"Finals footy is a really special time, but it's also a whole new level, so we're going to have to step up if we want to earn ourselves another week in this competition," Robertson said this week.
"Both sides will have learnt a bit about one another last week, and it's a pretty unique scenario to have back to back games against the same opposition. This is knock-out rugby though, and Queensland know what it's like to play in these big games, so we're taking nothing for granted with our preparation this week and we're going to need our fans right behind us in the stands for this one."
Friday's night clash is due to kick off at 7:05pm NZT from Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch.
Crusaders: Will Jordan, Sevu Reece, Jack Goodhue, David Havili, Leicester Fainga'anuku, Richie Mo'unga, Bryn Hall, Cullen Grace, Ethan Blackadder, Pablo Matera, Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett, Oli Jager, Codie Taylor, George Bower. Reserves: Brodie McAlister, Finlay Brewis, Fletcher Newell, Zach Gallagher, Tom Christie, Mitchell Drummond, Braydon Ennor, George Bridge.
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Don’t pay a blind bit of notice to Lukie… he likes the sound of his own voice and is always looking for something controversial to say. He has been banging on about Leinster's defensive system all season like he knows something Jacques Nienebar doesn’t. Which is the reason why he didn’t apply for the job obviously
Go to commentsI’m all for speeding up the game. But can we be certain that the slowness of the game contributed to fans walking out? I’m not so sure. Super rugby largely suffered from most fans only being able to, really, follow the games played in their own time zone. So at least a third of the fan base wasn’t engaged at any point in time. As a Saffer following SA teams in the URC - I now watch virtually every European game played on the weekend. In SR, I wouldn’t be bothered to follow the games being played on the other side of the world, at weird hours, if my team wasn’t playing. I now follow the whole tournament and not just the games in my time zone. Second, with New Zealand teams always winning. It’s like formula one. When one team dominates, people lose interest. After COVID, with SA leaving and Australia dipping in form, SR became an even greater one horse race. Thats why I think Japan’s league needs to get in the mix. The international flavor of those teams could make for a great spectacle. But surely if we believe that shaving seconds off lost time events in rugby is going to draw fans back, we should be shown some figures that supports this idea before we draw any major conclusions. Where are the stats that shows these changes have made that sort of impact? We’ve measured down to the average no. Of seconds per game. Where the measurement of the impact on the fanbase? Does a rugby “fan” who lost interest because of ball in play time suddenly have a revived interest because we’ve saved or brought back into play a matter of seconds or a few minutes each game? I doubt it. I don’t thinks it’s even a noticeable difference to be impactful. The 20 min red card idea. Agreed. Let’s give it a go. But I think it’s fairer that the player sent off is substituted and plays no further part in the game as a consequence.
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