McCaw back for Crusaders in Super 15
Updated: April 13, 2011, 19:06
WELLINGTON, New Zealand(AP) All Blacks captain Richie McCaw will make his first Super 15 rugby appearance of the season off the bench for the Canterbury Crusaders who meet the Waikato Chiefs on Friday in the tournament's ninth round.
McCaw has been sidelined since New Zealand's test against Wales in Cardiff last December with a stress fracture in one foot and has been named in a Crusaders match-day squad for the first time this season after returning to training last week.
However, All Blacks flyhalf Dan Carter will miss the match at Mount Maunganui with a recurring hamstring strain, delaying what would have been his 200th first class game.
The Crusaders have made three changes to their lineup for the match as they try to extend a five-match winning streak, which has them level with the Queensland Reds at the top of the championship table. McCaw said he was eager to rejoin a winning team.
"I'm excited to be back in the mix,'' he said. "In the last couple of weeks I've really started to feel like I wanted to get back into the swing of things.
"The foot feels good and I don't think there's any worries there, it might just be a bit tough on the lungs,'' McCaw said.
The loss of Carter on Wednesday has been the only minor setback for the Crusaders who were without the All Blacks star when they crushed defending champions the Bulls 27-0 last weekend.
"It's disappointing for Dan that he's had a recurrence of the hamstring injury he's been battling for the last three weeks,'' Crusaders backs coach Daryl Gibson said.
"It's a little disruptive, but the good thing is that Matt Berquist played last week against the Bulls and did a pretty good job so we're confident he can slot in and run the ship.''
The Crusaders have beaten the Chiefs 11 times in 15 meetings and are expected to extend that record, though the Chiefs have been boosted by the return from injury of All Blacks fullback Mils Muliaina.
"The Chiefs are dangerous across the park and will definitely attack us,'' Crusaders captain Kieran Read said. "In the last few weeks we've played South African teams who have been a bit more abrupt at what they've tried to achieve so we're going to get something different on Friday and we'll have to be ready for that.''
In other ninth round matches, the Reds defend their tournament lead against the Bulls in Brisbane, the Melbourne Rebels host the Otago Highlanders, the Auckland Blues play the New South Wales Waratahs, the Lions play the Stormers, the Cheetahs meet the Hurricanes and the ACT Brumbies play the Western Force.
The Reds moved to first place on the championship table last weekend when they ended the six-match unbeaten run of the Durban-based Stormers, and will now attempt to post a franchise-record sixth straight win when they meet the Bulls.
"We like to adjust history and those little targets are things that we take note of,'' coach Ewen McKenzie said.
"To be able to subtly prove to the group that we are making progress - and relative to previous Reds teams, we are making some significant progress - that's a good thing.
"Those little moments of history have been good and we've been able to regularly tick those off after the last six months, so it'd be nice to see another little record along the way.''
The Waratahs have lost captain Phil Waugh, backrower Wycliff Palu and winger Afa Pakalani to injury, and may lose center Tom Carter, ahead of their clash with the Blues at Auckland. The Blues are currently fourth and the Waratahs fifth on the championship table.
Saturday's match will provide a stern test of the Waratahs depth as they look towards a crucial 10th-round match against Queensland, one of the biggest traditional clashes of the season.
"Going over there playing in Auckland is tough and I think we have only won once there in 84 years,'' coach Chris Hickey said.
"Our main focus is on the Blues game and getting a win there ... but you know they (Queensland) are coming up in two weeks' time, you have to be aware that is the game coming at you.''
The 12th-placed Hurricanes will be without All Blacks Conrad Smith and Aaron Cruden - both injured - when they take on the 14th-placed Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, trying to break a five-match losing run.
The Brumbies beat the Hurricanes by a point last weekend and will try to keep up their new winning momentum against Australian rivals the Western Force while the Stormers will attempt to bounce back from last week's loss when they meet the Johannesburg-based Lions.
