Rugby: No room for McCaw, Carter

Richie McCaw will again take his place on the bench against the Highlanders. Photo / Getty

The Crusaders could find no room for either Richie McCaw or Dan Carter in their starting XV for the crunch clash against the Highlanders on Saturday.

The southern sides are separated by only a point in the Super Rugby standings, leaving the encounter at AMI Stadium pivotal in the playoff picture, but coach Todd Blackadder has declined the opportunity to inject the experienced duo.

Colin Slade will again start at first five-eighth, having taken the No10 jersey for last weekend's thumping of the Sharks. Carter was a late withdrawal from that side after returning to New Zealand for the birth of his second son, with the All Black back on the bench for Saturday night.

Carter will be joined in the reserves by McCaw, set to make his second straight substitute appearance after being introduced in the 51st minute during last week's 52-10 win in Durban.

The All Blacks captain's exclusion allows Matt Todd and Jordan Taufua to continue on the sides of the scrum in a largely settled line-up. Blackadder has made two changes to his run-on XV, keeping intact the backline that ripped apart the Sharks and making a pair of minor tweaks to the forwards.

Lock Jimmy Tupou has earned a rare start, with Luke Romano rested entirely from the 23, while Joe Moody will give Wyatt Crockett a break at prop.

The clash with the Highlanders will mark Owen Franks' 100th game for the Crusaders, an achievement that coach Todd Blackadder said would be celebrated by the whole team.

"Everyone will want to make this a special occasion for Owen, because he gives so much to this team," Blackadder said. "He leads the way with his professionalism and dedication and provides an outstanding mentor to other members of the team.

"He gives 100 percent every single day, both in his preparation and when he plays. I know that Owen will approach this game the same way as he approaches every game, but we will take some time afterwards to mark this important milestone with him and show our appreciation for the immense contribution he makes to this team."

Meanwhile, Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph has retained the same line-up which beat the Stormers a fortnight ago for the derby match.

The Highlanders, who had a bye last weekend, will travel to Christchurch keen to avenge their 26-20 loss to the Crusaders in round two.

Crusaders:
Israel Dagg, David Havili, Kieron Fonotia, Ryan Crotty, Nemani Nadolo, Colin Slade, Andy Ellis, Kieran Read (c), Matt Todd, Jordan Taufua, Sam Whitelock, Jimmy Tupou, Owen Franks, Ben Funnell, Joe Moody. Reserves: Codie Taylor, Alex Hodgman, Nepo Laulala, Scott Barrett, Richie McCaw, Mitchell Drummond, Dan Carter, Nafi Tuitavake

Highlanders:
Ben Smith (c), Waisake Naholo, Malakai Fekitoa, Shaun Treeby, Patrick Osborne, Lima Sopoaga, Aaron Smith, Nasi Manu (c), James Lentjes, Elliot Dixon, Joe Wheeler, Tom Franklin, Josh Hohneck, Ash Dixon, Brendon Edmonds. Reserves: Liam Coltman, Daniel Lienert-Brown, Pingi Tala'apitaga, Mark Reddish, Dan Pryor, Fumiaki Tanaka, Marty Banks, Jason Emery.