Waratahs v Crusaders
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Crusaders captain Scott Barrett is among reinforcements sent to Australia for their match against the Waratahs in Wollongong on Saturday.
His return from an illness which sidelined him for two weeks is timely, given the Crusaders have sent flanker Ethan Blackadder and hooker Brodie McAlister home.
Both took knocks to the head during the 63-28 trouncing of the Reds in Brisbane last weekend, ruling them out of action until at least Friday week’s home game against the Western Force.
Ta$man hooker Quentin MacDonald, who played 22 matches for the Crusaders between 2010-12, and Canterbury flanker Liam Allen will join the squad at their Coogee Beach base as injury cover, assistant coach Andrew Goodman confirmed.Having passed his initial head injury assessment on the back of his stellar performance in the No 7 jersey against the Reds, Blackadder joins fellow loose forwards Tom Sanders (broken nose) and Tom Christie (dislocated shoulder) on the sidelines.
It leaves Cullen Grace, Whetukamokamo Douglas, Sione Havili Talitui and Allen as healthy loose forwards, meaning regular lock Barrett could well be asked to play No 6 against the Waratahs.
McAlister’s unavailability means there will be a spot in the 23 for rake Nathan Vella, who joined the squad at the start of the season when Andrew Makalio had season-ending neck surgery. -
I was wondering how Blackadder pulled up. That was quite a knock.
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any chance we're going to see this again
look at those crowds for a round robin match!
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Crusaders team to play the Waratahs:
1 George Bower
2 Codie Taylor (VC)
3 Michael Alaalatoa
4 Quinten Strange
5 Scott Barrett (C)
6 Whetukamokamo Douglas
7 Sione Havili Talitui
8 Cullen Grace
9 Mitchell Drummond
10 Richie Mo'unga
11 Leicester Fainga'anuku
12 Dallas McLeod
13 Braydon Ennor
14 Sevu Reece
15 Will JordanRESERVES:
16 Nathan Vella*
17 Tamaiti Williams
18 Oliver Jager
19 Samuel Whitelock
20 Mitchell Dunshea
21 Bryn Hall
22 Fergus Burke
23 Manasa Mataele*denotes Crusaders debut
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Waratahs
Angus Bell, Dave Porecki, Harry Johnson-Holmes, Jeremy Williams, Jack Whetton, Lachie Swinton, Jack Dempsey, Will Harris, Jake Gordon (c), Ben Donaldson, Alex Newsome, Lalakai Foketi, Izaia Perese, Jack Maddocks, Will HarrisonReserves: Joe Cotton, Te Tera Faulkner, Darcy Breen, Sam Caird, Carlo Tizzano, Jack Grant, Tepai Moeroa, Mark Nawaqanitawase
In: Sam Caird, Jeremy Williams, Tepai Moeroa, Izaia Perese
Out: Max Douglas, Hugh Sinclair, James Turner, Charlie Gamble
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@stargazer said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
Crusaders team to play the Waratahs:
1 George Bower
2 Codie Taylor (VC)
3 Michael Alaalatoa
4 Quinten Strange
5 Scott Barrett (C)
6 Whetukamokamo Douglas
7 Sione Havili Talitui
8 Cullen Grace
9 Mitchell Drummond
10 Richie Mo'unga
11 Leicester Fainga'anuku
12 Dallas McLeod
13 Braydon Ennor
14 Sevu Reece
15 Will JordanRESERVES:
16 Nathan Vella*
17 Tamaiti Williams
18 Oliver Jager
19 Samuel Whitelock
20 Mitchell Dunshea
21 Bryn Hall
22 Fergus Burke
23 Manasa Mataele*denotes Crusaders debut
4 locks?
Lose SHT who covers loosie?
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@stargazer said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
@booboo Scott Barrett covers blindside, Cullen Grace covers openside. So you can be pretty sure that Whitelock and Dunshea will replace Strange and Douglas.
Kinda my point.
Do they see that the Tah's loosies are pretty immobile? Or are they intending smashing them up front?
... or both?
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@kiwimurph said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
Dempsey at 7 is a weird call.
He's kind of stuck between 6,7 and 8.
Over tizzano? Yeah that's a weird call.
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@booboo The Crusaders had only two options: this line-up, or fielding inexperienced academy player Liam Allen, who's with the squad as injury cover and has only 2 NPC caps for Canterbury. Not sure why Allen was called up and not Brendon O'Connor. Maybe injured, too?
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@stargazer said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
@booboo The Crusaders had only two options: this line-up, or fielding inexperienced academy player Liam Allen, who's with the squad as injury cover and has only 2 NPC caps for Canterbury. Not sure why Allen was called up and not Brendon O'Connor. Maybe injured, too?
It's the Waratahs. They have an ace pack. I mean seriously good.
Reckon they could run a rookie off the bench.
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@Stargazer @booboo Dunshea covers blindside as well as lock.
Looking forward to the game. Congrats to Vella for the selection. Been around for a while now, so will be interesting to see how he goes.
