Chiefs v Crusaders
Hamilton, 7.35 tonight
In these days of campaign planning, where phrases like "peaking at the right time" have become part of the sporting lexicon, it is encouraging to hear Mils Muliaina pledge that his side will empty the tanks against the Crusaders tonight.
It helps when you have the luxury of 14 days until your next assignment, but the Chiefs captain is as motivated by what happened last week as he is by the future.
"It's always pretty special playing the Crusaders and the way we played last weekend means we're full of motivation to go out there and fix things for our home crowd," he said.
"We know how big a challenge it is but we're going to put 100 per cent into it because we know we have the bye next week."
The Chiefs lost a cutting edge against the Reds after their flying start, something they are determined to fix against the ruthless Crusaders. Points will be at a premium so they cannot afford to waste line breaks with the sort of sloppy handling and poor support play that plagued their final hour against the Queenslanders. "There were certainly times there where we could have put more points on if we'd been more clinical," Muliaina lamented. "We went away from our basic team pattern.
"We're up against a team who know how to finish things off and know how to be clinical so it's a case of us getting back to the way we play the game and making sure our skill level is exceptional."
If the Chiefs needed added incentive, they should look to the fact they would remain the highest-placed New Zealand team after round five, should they win. If not, then the Crusaders would leapfrog them, and possibly the Hurricanes too.
The Chiefs are second on the table behind the Bulls, who had their bye last week.
Coach Ian Foster has made two changes to his starting XV, with lock Craig Clarke pushing the impressive Culum Retallick to the bench and Aled de Malmanche coming in for Hika Elliot, who strained a hamstring in training.
Foster's counterpart, Todd Blackadder, has also made two changes to the Crusaders XV. Isaac Ross replaces Sam Whitelock at lock and Kahn Fotuali'i comes in for Andy Ellis, who has not recovered sufficiently from a head knock he suffered against the Blues.
Foster and his troops have had to deal with the added burden of the off-field problems that continue to plague Sione Lauaki. The No 8 has been charged with assault and will appear in court this month.
Although Foster has largely kept his feelings to himself apart from the odd bland words of encouragement and support, it must be doubly disappointing for him after taking what many considered a huge gamble in naming him captain in the absence of Muliaina.
CHIEFS v CRUSADERS:
Chiefs
Mils Muliaina (c)
Lelia Masaga
Richard Kahui
Callum Bruce
Sitiveni Sivivatu
Stephen Donald
Brendon Leonard
Colin Bourke
Tanerau Latimer
Liam Messam
Romana Graham
Craig Clarke
Nathan White
A. de Malmanche
Sona Taumalolo
Reserves: Vern Kamo, Ben Afeaki, Culum Retallick, Luke Braid, Junior Poluleuligaga, Mike Delany, Dwayne Sweeney.
Crusaders
Jared Payne
Sean Maitland
Robbie Fruean
Ryan Crotty
Zac Guildford
Daniel Carter
Kahn Fotuali'i
Kieran Read
George Whitelock
Richie McCaw (c)
Isaac Ross
Brad Thorn
Owen Franks
Ti'i Paulo
Wyatt Crockett
Reserves: Corey Flynn, Ben Franks (Peter Borlase), Sam Whitelock, Thomas Waldrom (Jonathan Poff), Willi Heinz, Adam Whitelock, Colin Slade.
