Hurricane's TJ Perenara protects the ball as acting half back Ben Franks clears the ball from the ruck during the match between Hurricanes v Crusaders. Photo / File
The Crusaders will target the Hurricanes scrum and an untried new midfield combination in Saturday's high stakes contest in Christchurch.
There was huge merit in the Hurricanes' gritty 28-17 Super Rugby win over the Waratahs in Sydney, but there was not scope, in slippery conditions with bruising defence, to push
hard for the bonus point. Not that that would have cleared the playoffs picture in the New Zealand conference.
The Hurricanes lineout was able to successfully disrupt the Waratahs, but in turn the home side put heat on the visitors' scrum, and now tighthead prop Chris Eves has a cut ear and possible concussion, which could rule him out of the final round match-up. The Crusaders are lying in wait with a clutch of All Blacks front-rowers.
Willis Halaholo was solid at second-five, aside from his high shot on Bernard Foley, which earned a trip to the sinbin. His midfield partner Matt Proctor limped off after 25 minutes with a hamstring injury, so his place will likely go to Ngani Laumape. He, in turn, will wince at the review when he sees how high he went on a try-bound Israel Folau.
Crusaders centre Ryan Crotty will make them earn their keep. The All Black has a low mistake rate and runs good attacking angles, as he showed with two tries in the Crusaders' 85-24 shellacking of a tackle-shy Melbourne Rebels on Saturday night.
