Rugby: Carter's comeback forces position rejig

Dan Carter is on the comeback from a leg injury sustained in Round 1 of the Super 15. Photo / Getty

Holding pattern or way forward for Crusaders? That's the question which immediately springs to mind regarding Dan Carter's selection at second-five for the Crusaders against the Lions this afternoon.

Clearly Todd Blackadder wants to keep disruption at a minimum in bringing back Carter from his leg injury, which means keeping Colin Slade at first-five. Slade is becoming to the Crusaders what Ben Smith is for the All Blacks - an automatic selection somewhere on the field, in Slade's case first-five, fullback, or even wing.

So, in keeping Slade at No 10, despite Israel Dagg's continued unavailability after he missed the 40-16 defeat at the hands of the Chiefs in Hamilton before last weekend's bye, Tom Taylor again finds himself at fullback.

This is where it could get tricky for a Crusaders team which has won only one match this season. A victory over the Lions in Christchurch - surely highly probable given the lack of attacking threat the men from Johannesburg showed in their win over the Blues - could paper over the defensive cracks. Taylor is a much better defender at first-five than he is in the back. If Dagg is unavailable for the Cheetahs the following weekend, Taylor could find himself in trouble against a team which, offensively, is the antithesis of the dour Lions.

The ideal scenario for Carter this afternoon will be to get some trouble-free minutes into his legs; to be able to follow a game plan without having to drive it; to be able to do what he does best and follow his instincts.

Helping assist him in that goal will be the return of Kieran Read, Sam Whitelock and Nemani Nadolo because all three provide a threat with the ball and have the ability to put the Crusaders on the front foot, especially the 125kg wing Nadolo, who has arrived from his Japanese club with a new tattoo on his arm and an award as the Pacific Island Players' Player of the Year for 2014.

Today's match and next week's against the Cheetahs, also at home, are must-wins for the Crusaders, who afterwards face two difficult assignments in South Africa against the Bulls and Sharks. They can't allow themselves to be drawn into an arm wrestle with the Lions, a team of big but limited men who ruined the party for the Blues, and in particular Jerome Kaino and Keven Mealamu, at North Harbour last weekend.