Rugby: Chiefs call on Big Ben to blunt Crusaders

By selecting Ben Tameifuna at prop, Chiefs coach Dave Rennie is hoping to spike the Crusaders' scrum weapon with the biggest piece of artillery he has.

The 140kg Tameifuna made his considerable presence felt when replacing recent All Blacks debutant Ben Afeaki at tighthead in the second half of the Chiefs' victory over the Hurricanes last weekend.

Tameifuna's impact was obvious at scrum time, but also around the field - he scored one of the Chiefs' four tries when charging through a breakdown amidst a pile of bodies.

Now the 21-year-old gets the chance to repeat his actions from the first whistle at AMI Stadium against one of the best scrums in the competition. The Crusaders boast eight current or former All Blacks in their pack, and 12 in their starting line-up.

"The key thing is they've got a really good scrum and their set piece is a real weapon for them, both with and without the ball," Rennie said.

The Chiefs coach dodged the question of whether Tameifuna's selection was an attempt to put pressure on Wyatt Crockett, the Crusaders loosehead. However, there is no doubt Crockett, now probably the best loosehead in the country, will find it more difficult to manoeuvre Tameifuna than he would Afeaki.

Rennie has selected Sam Cane at openside flanker against Matt Todd for a battle of the two young All Blacks No7s, with Charlie Ngatai getting the nod at centre ahead of Tim Nanai-Williams. Rennie said Nanai-Williams was still struggling for fitness after his groin problem.

"With Timmy, with the injuries that he's had ... in regard to running fast and getting high-speed metres into him, it's been limited the last few weeks and that showed last week. We're focusing on freshening him up a little bit and getting him going over the next couple of weeks."

Former Crusaders wider training group player Patrick Osborne has been named on the right wing, with Aseali Tikoirotuma moving to the left and Lelia Masaga missing out. The Chiefs need only one competition point to top the New Zealand conference heading into the play-offs.

Meanwhile, Rennie said he wouldn't be interested in signing Ma'a Nonu if Sonny Bill Williams didn't return next year.

Chiefs team to play the Crusaders at AMI Stadium tomorrow, kick-off 7.35pm:

Robbie Robinson, Patrick Osborne, Charlie Ngatai, Bundee Aki, Asaeli Tikoirotuma, Aaron Cruden, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Matt Vant Leven, Sam Cane, Liam Messam, Brodie Retallick, Craig Clarke (c), Ben Tameifuna, Hika Elliot, Pauliasi Manu. Reserves: Mahonri Schwalger, Ben Afeaki, Michael Fitzgerald, Tanerau Latimer, Augustine Pulu, Andrew Horrell, Tim Nanai-Williams.

Crusaders:

Israel Dagg, Tom Marshall, Ryan Crotty, Tom Taylor, Zac Guildford, Dan Carter, Andy Ellis, Kieran Read, Matt Todd, George Whitelock, Sam Whitelock, Luke Romano, Owen Franks, Corey Flynn, Wyatt Crockett. Reserves: Ben Funnell, Joe Moody, Tom Donnelly, Luke Whitelock, Willi Heinz, Tyler Bleyendaal, Telusa Veainu.