Crusaders v Bulls: Teams
New Zealand fly-half Dan Carter has been ruled out of the Crusaders' clash with the Bulls on Saturday.
By Tony Curtis - Twitter: @SkySportsTC
Last Updated: 08/04/11 8:45am
New Zealand fly-half Dan Carter has been ruled out of the Crusaders' clash with the Bulls on Saturday.
Matt Berquist will get his first start of the season at Carter failed to overcome a hamstring complaint.
Sam Whitelock is also injured, with the lock replaced by the experienced Chris Jack.
The Crusaders have also swapped the Franks brothers, with Ben getting the nod ahead of Owen.
And Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder is expecting a tough test against the defending champions.
"We are very aware of their threats across the park so we'll have to be switched on from the kick-off," he said.
Recovered
"We have great depth in our squad so we're comfortable with the replacements for our injured guys.
"Matt has played well for us when coming on during matches and Chris has played over 100 matches for the Crusaders so that speaks for itself."
The Bulls have named Zane Kirchner in their line-up after the full-back recovered from a knee injury.
Danie Rossouw is also back in the Bulls squad after returning from paternity leave, with Jaco van der Westhuyzen dropping out the squad.
"They certainly don't come much harder than this one," Frans Ludeke told the Bulls official website.
"The Crusaders are playing great rugby, but we have shown in the past that we never shy away from huge challenges.
"More importantly for us will be our own desire to improve every week. Last weekend showed massive improvement, but we will need another massive step-up to beat the Crusaders."
Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Matt Berquist, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read (capt), 7 Matt Todd, 6 George Whitelock, 5 Chris Jack, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Owen Franks, 18 Luke Romano, 19 Jonathan Poff/Joe Wheeler, 20 Kahn Fotuali'i, 21 Tom Marshall, 22 Adam Whitelock.
Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Dean Greyling.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Derick Kuün, 21 Francois Brummer, 22 Gerhard van den Heever.
