Waratahs v Crusaders: Teams

Australia prop Al Baxter will become the first front rower to reach 100 caps for New South Wales when the Waratahs take on the Crusaders at ANZ Stadium on Saturday.

Returning from a calf injury which ruled him out of last Friday's loss to the Brumbies in Canberra, Baxter will also surpass Matt Dunning as the most capped prop ever to play for NSW.

"If last week was a final we probably would have played Al, but there's still a long way to go in this competition so we decided to give him the extra week to recover," said head coach Chris Hickey.

"As it's turned out, Al gets to play his 100th match in Sydney which is fitting."

Baxter's inclusion sees Dan Palmer back on the bench after starting his first Super 14 match last week.

The only other change to the starting line-up involves Tom Carter returning to the No.12 jersey and Timana Tahu set to make an impact from the reserves.

Disastrous

The final change to the team from the side which faced the Brumbies in Canberra involves 2007 Australian Schools captain Damien Fitzpatrick named as backup hooker, set for his state debut from the bench.

Fitzpatrick replaces Adam Freier who underwent surgery yesterday on a torn bicep sustained against the Brumbies which prematurely ended the Test hooker's season.

The Crusaders welcome back All Black scrum-half Andy Ellis back for their trip to Sydney.

The champions, with one win in five from their season start, have been hit by injuries in the early part of the season, and head into a repeat of last year's final knowing that another defeat would probably end their title defence.

The management aren't prepared to dwell on the potentially disastrous consequences of a loss to the second-placed Waratahs.

"We don't even look at that, we've got a young group and we've got to expect that things aren't always going to be perfect," Crusaders assistant coach Mark Hammett said.

"That's not to say we're not aiming for perfection, but we will only look at one week at a time."

Ellis returns after missing the draw with the Force last week due to sore ribs.

"He (Ellis) understands the game extremely well so it's nice to have him back in there," Hammett said.

There were no other changes to the team that was held to a 23-23 draw by the Force last week, bar Kahn Fotuali'i dropping to the bench to make way for Ellis and Tyson Keats thus dropping out altogether.

Waratahs: 15 Sam Norton-Knight, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh (captain), 6 Dean Mumm, 5 Will Caldwell, 4 Chris Thomson, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Damien Fitzpatrick, 17 Dan Palmer, 18 Luke Doherty, 19 Ben Mowen, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Daniel Halangahu, 22 Timana Tahu.

Crusaders: 15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Adam Whitelock, 13 Tim Bateman, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Colin Slade, 10 Stephen Brett, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 George Whitelock, 6 Kieran Read (capt), 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Bronson Murray, 2 Jason Macdonald, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Dan Perrin, 17 Owen Franks, 18 Michael Paterson, 19 Nasi Manu, 20 Kahn Fotuali'i, 21 Hamish Gard, 22 Blair Cook.