Brumbies v Crusaders: Teams

Richie McCaw, Brad Thorn and Leon MacDonald will miss the Crusaders' match against the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday.

New Zealand captain McCaw suffered a head knock in the first-round win against the Chiefs and has not recovered sufficiently to take the field in Canberra.

McCaw has a history of concussion problems. In 2004 he spent months on the sidelines after being knocked out in New Zealand's 36-3 win against England and the following year was out for four weeks after taking another blow to the head during the Crusaders' Super 12 campaign.

Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder said his skipper had been close to being available but was not quite 100 per cent fit.

"He has been following our concussion protocols this week and we've been monitoring him closely but the Crusaders management, along with Richie, have decided that he won't play this week," said Blackadder.

Lock Thorn injured his heel, while full-back MacDonald also went off early against the Chiefs with a shoulder injury and Blackadder was unsure how long the pair would be unavailable.

Isaac Ross comes in for Thorn and Stephen Brett will take over at the back for MacDonald. George Whitelock has been named at openside flanker and Kieran Read will lead the team in McCaw's absence.

"George, Isaac and Stephen are quality players and this is a great opportunity for them," Blackadder said.

"You can never go through this competition without picking up injuries and, although having three experienced players out at the same time is unfortunate, I'm sure these young guys will make their presence felt."

Brumbies: 15 Mark Gerrard, 14 Clyde Rathbone, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Stirling Mortlock, 11 Francis Fainifo, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Patrick Phibbs, 8 Stephen Hoiles (c), 7 George Smith, 6 Julian Salvi, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Ben Hand, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Nic Henderson.
Replacements (from): John Ulugia, Ben Alexander, Sitaleki Timani, Peter Kimlin, Joshua Holmes, Tyrone Smith, Matt Toomua, Shawn Mackay, Mitchell Chapman.

Crusaders: 15 Stephen Brett, 14 Jared Payne, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Tim Bateman, 11 Kade Poki, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 George Whitelock, 6 Kieran Read (c), 5 Ross Filipo, 4 Isaac Ross, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Jason Macdonald, 17 Bronson Murray, 18 Michael Paterson, 19 Nasi Manu, 20 Kahn Fotuali'i, 21 Ryan Crotty, 22 Adam Whitelock.