Rugby: Crusaders set to defy statistics on Cape

Todd Blackadder. Photo / Getty Images

The addition of a UK-based former Springbok to the Stormers has given Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder cause to get his Brits in a tangle.

On an off-season break from premiership-winning club Saracens, Schalk Brits has been allowed by Sanzar to take his place on the bench for Sunday's semifinal.

The loose forward-hooker hybrid has been told, however, that he can cover the flankers only.

Blackadder tried to be diplomatic, but is clearly irked by Brits' presence.

"Sanzar will have to really look at it and deal with it going forward. Whether I agree or disagree with it has no relevance really, the fact is they've been allowed to do it," Blackadder said.

"You've got to be really careful about bringing in marquee players at this time time of year, for finals footy.

"I doubt this will ever be allowed again, so it will be very interesting to see what comes out in the wash."

The Brits sideshow apart, Blackadder couldn't be happier with the way his team have settled in on the Cape.

"We're in great shape. All the talk has been about what we need to do to win this game," he said.

"There's a real hunger and an edge here. If I compare this team to the one that travelled here last year, they're two different sides."

Blackadder said last year's team, which lost 24-39 to the Bulls, was clearly fatigued while this time "the mind is fresh and so are the bodies".

One of those feeling fresh and well rested, though not necessarily well groomed, is hooker Corey Flynn.

He will make his 100th appearance, which seemed unattainable in 2009 when he suffered his fifth broken arm.

"It wasn't something [I thought would be] within my grasp. This year I've managed to chip away, the results have gone our way so we've carried on and it's come around," Flynn said.

He is part of a Crusaders front row that has been outstanding this season, the Franks brothers and Wyatt Crockett providing a rock-solid base for the fancier footworkers behind.

"It's one of the better front rows I've played in, for sure," he said. "It's time in the saddle. It's been brewing for a couple of years now.

"We were just a young front row together a couple of years ago and with injuries guys kept coming in and out. Now we've had some time together."

The Chilean ash cloud, which seems to have been fixed over Australasia long enough for a name change, added time to their journey to Cape Town, but Flynn said that given what they've been through this year, the extra hours in transit were a doddle.

It's also why the statistics that say away games are rarely won mean nothing to them.

"Right from the start we knew we were travelling all year. Once we beat the Sharks we knew we were coming to Cape Town, so it was, 'Oh well, let's go to Cape Town.' It's just one of those things," Flynn said.

"The things we've had to get over this year have instilled a huge amount of belief. A lot of people say we can't do it, it's never been done before. "My attitude is just because it's never been done, doesn't mean it can't be done."

STORMERS v CRUSADERS
Cape Town, Sunday, June 3, 5.05am NZT

STORMERS
* Conrad Jantjes
* Gio Aplon
* Jaque Fourie
* Jean de Villiers
* Bryan Habana
* Peter Grant
* Dewaldt Duvenage
* Nick Koster
* Francois Louw
* Schalk Burger (c)
* Andries Bekker
* Rynhardt Elstadt
* Brok Harris
* Tiaan Liebenberg
* Wicus Blaauw
Reserves: Deon Fourie, Steven Kitshoff, Anton van Zyl, Schalk Brits, Louis Schreuder, Juan de Jongh, Johann Sadie.

CRUSADERS
* Tom Marshall
* Sean Maitland
* Robbie Fruean
* S.B. Williams
* Zac Guildford
* Dan Carter
* Andy Ellis
* Kieran Read
* Richie McCaw (c)
* George Whitelock
* Sam Whitelock
* Brad Thorn
* Owen Franks
* Corey Flynn
* Wyatt Crockett
Reserves: Quentin MacDonald, Ben Franks, Luke Romano, Matt Todd, Kahn Foutali'i, Matt Berquist, Ryan Crotty.