Wynne Gray: Canes bring hoopla, forecourt press

The Canes need TJ Perenara to create much from little. Photo / Photosport

Victory tonight for the Crusaders would debunk some slow-starter baggage and give them a handy jump in the cut-throat Kiwi conference.

A result for the Hurricanes would repeat last year's round robin win at the Cake Tin, continue their rebuild after a sloppy start this season and ice an evening when Beauden Barrett and Ben May play their 100th Super Rugby matches.

They've kept the same starting crew after travelling back from Argentina.

The Crusaders have lost playmaker Richie Mo'unga but reclaimed openside flanker Matt Todd from a fractured thumb to battle hometown flier Ardie Savea.

Mo'unga brings a sharp direction for the Crusaders backline but his replacement Mitchell Hunt is steady and has four All Blacks outside him to build pressure and force mistakes from their dangerous attacking rivals.

The Crusaders have the set-piece strength and mauling technique to squeeze the Hurricanes' resistance and they will go to those platforms to ask questions of their rivals' shaky scrum, lineout and defensive levels.

Even without test props Joe Moody and Owen Franks, the Crusaders have a scrum to disturb the cracks which can appear with the Canes and multiple lineout targets to claim and challenge passion while that sort of pressure also creates violations and yellow card advantages.

But if the game swings away from the set-piece and the pace stays high, the Canes will fancy their skills to create trouble.

It may be a game where the Canes need TJ Perenara and Barrett to create much from little if they are to shake the 2017 champions, a match where Perenara should uncork more of his powerful running skills around the fringes to break the attention on Barrett and let him flow from later phases.

They'll need Savea in their wheelhouse if they concentrate on breaking the Crusaders' rhythm by pressing from the outside in and taking time away from Bryn Hall and Hunt. That sort of forecourt press is designed to force hurried kicks where the Canes will look to the younger Jordie Barrett to stretch his inventive legs.

Counter-attack is their specialty and a chance to see how Julian Savea responds to chances with the ball and in his overall work rate in his quest to ring the bell once more with the national selectors.

In all the public guess work about how the teams want to play and the upshots tonight, there will also be the influence of referee Brendon Pickerill who is rising up the ratings and is exacting with his rulings.

Officials have penalised scrums early this season and also been strict on defenders interfering with their opponents in the air at lineouts, kickoffs and kick-chase situations - areas the Crusaders relish.