Rugby: Defending champs quietly confident for semi

They might be largely written off at the most imposing Super 14 rugby venue, but that hasn't dimmed the noticeable confidence emanating from the Crusaders' camp.

The defending champions tackle the Bulls in semifinal two at a sold-out Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria tomorrow as clear underdogs in their bid to make it an all-New Zealand final.

The facts are clear. The table-topping Bulls won all six home games this season, are unbeaten in their past nine there, have a baying full house behind them, a tough forward pack led by Victor Matfield, a gun goalkicker in Morne Steyn and a matchwinner in Bryan Habana, whose try two minutes into injury time in the 2007 final secured the Bulls their first Super 14 title.

The Crusaders didn't arrive in Johannesburg until Monday night (NZT), so have the travel and high altitude to overcome. It appeared a simple equation but the visitors weren't buying into it.

McCaw insisted the long journey and high altitude wouldn't be a factor, and felt their buildup had hardly gone better.

That mood was further improved when All Blacks lock Brad Thorn (hamstring) was passed fit, while halfback Andy Ellis (ribs) was given until match day to prove his fitness amid an encouraging medical report.

McCaw rated Loftus one of his favourite venues. His Crusaders have a four-win, four-loss record there including a staggering 54-19 victory in last year's round robin, and a more forgettable 12-27 defeat in the 2007 semifinals.

"It's the same anywhere you go away from home. If you get into the game and on top early you take the crowd noise out of it a bit," he said.

"You can either feel lonely out there if you can't hear your mate yelling at you or you can just get excited. If you do well in those places it's the most satisfying. Saturday will be about making the most of the opportunity."

The Crusaders defied the odds this year, having lost their champion coach Robbie Deans and a host of frontliners, notably All Blacks stars Dan Carter and Ali Williams.

Under new coaching trio Todd Blackadder, Mark Hammett and Daryl Gibson, they won just one of their first five matches but fought their way back with trademark tough defence, and sealed fourth spot with a Leon MacDonald drop goal to beat the Blues 15-13.

McCaw relished the chance to "slip under the radar" in recent weeks, knowing each of their final three matches were must-win.

His side matched up well with the Bulls up front at least, with a solid set piece and impressive loose forward trio of McCaw, Kieran Read and Thomas Waldrom.

Blackadder labelled the presence of New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence a positive, and McCaw said discipline was their main buzzword against a side who will kick for territory and try to suffocate.

"Playing at altitude, anything inside your half, a penalty is pretty much three points. They've got a pretty good kicker in Steyn so that [discipline] is going to be absolutely critical.

"That comes from pressure as well and having trust in the guys that your defence is going to stand up and not make mistakes. We've definitely talked about that this week."

They've also stressed the need to start strongly, having learned the lessons from 2007 when they were dominated in a try-less semifinal.

"There's a few guys that were involved that day. When I think back we just didn't impose ourselves on the game. We were chasing the game from early on," McCaw said.

The Bulls' only hiccup this week was in their midfield, with centre JP Nel suspended and in-form Springbok Wynand Olivier named to start, despite a painful hip injury.

BULLS
Zane Kirchner
Akona Ndungane
Jaco Pretorius
Wynand Olivier
Bryan Habana
Morne Steyn
Fourie du Preez
Pierre Spies
Dewald Potgieter
Deon Stegmann
Victor Matfield (c)
Bakkies Botha
Werner Kruger
Derick Kuun
G. Steenkamp

CRUSADERS
Leon MacDonald
Jared Payne
Tim Bateman
Ryan Crotty
Adam Whitelock
Stephen Brett
A. Ellis/K. Fotuali'i
Thomas Waldrom
Richie McCaw (c)
Kieran Read
Isaac Ross
Brad Thorn
Owen Franks
Jason Macdonald
Wyatt Crockett

Bulls: Chiliboy Ralepelle, Rayno Gerber, Danie Rossouw, Pedrie Wannenburg, Heini Adams, Burton Francis, Gerhard van den Heever

Crusaders: Daniel Perrin, Ben Franks, Michael Paterson/Ross Filipo, George Whitelock, Fotuali'i/Tyson Keats, Colin Slade, Hamish Gard.

- NZPA