Crusaders to introduce yet another flying Fijian wing

The Crusaders will flash another Fijian on the wing when they play the Bulls in Pretoria tomorrow morning.

Vilimoni Delasau, a sprinter in his schooldays in Fiji, has been named on the right wing for his Super 12 debut.

He replaces Rico Gear, who has been moved to centre, with Casey Laulala spelled by coach Robbie Deans.

"Casey has some niggles, he's gone game to game with them so this [rest] will freshen him up," Deans said from Port Elizabeth.

A more compelling change though is in the front row, where Greg Freek replaces regular Dave Hewett at loosehead prop alongside the team's No 2 hooker Tone Kopelani to face the big and aggressive Bulls' pack.

With Delasau now up to speed after missing a couple of weeks while helping Fiji win the sevens World Cup, Deans said he felt the timing was right to give the Fijian international an opportunity.

Daniel Carter moves back to first five-eighth and Andrew Mehrtens returns to the bench.

If Mehrtens plays he could overhaul Matthew Burke's all-time Super 12 points scoring record.

Mehrtens, who scored a try in last week's inspiring win over the Waratahs, is just four points adrift of Burke's 959.

A few seasons ago Mehrtens stirred the Bulls' fans at Loftus when he kicked a deciding goal amidst booing and then gave the crowd a reverse-finger salute.

- NZPA