All Blacks Richie McCaw, Brad Thorn and Leon MacDonald ruled out against Brumbies
All Blacks Richie McCaw, Brad Thorn and Leon MacDonald ruled out against Brumbies
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegrap...006067,00.html
THE Brumbies' task against Super 14 rugby champions the Crusaders on Saturday has become less daunting with key All Blacks Richie McCaw, Brad Thorn and Leon MacDonald ruled out.
The trio all failed to recover sufficiently from injuries suffered in their first round home win over the Chiefs last weekend and were omitted from the team named on Thursday for the Canberra Stadium match.
All Blacks captain McCaw received a head knock and team management said the champion openside flanker was not ready to play, although he had improved significantly. He's replaced by George Whitelock.
Lock Thorn (heel) and fullback MacDonald (shoulder) are replaced by Isaac Ross and Stephen Brett respectively with blindside flanker Kieran Read to captain the side.
Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder said McCaw was close to being available but was not quite 100 per cent.
"He has been following our concussion protocols this week and we've been monitoring him closely but the Crusaders management, along with Richie, have decided that he won't play this week," Blackadder said.
He said it was too early to say how long Thorn and MacDonald would be out for.
Crusaders: Stephen Brett, Jared Payne, Casey Laulala, Tim Bateman, Kade Poki, Colin Slade, Andy Ellis, Thomas Waldrom, George Whitelock, Kieran Read (capt), Ross Filipo, Isaac Ross, Ben Franks, Corey Flynn, Wyatt Crockett. Res: Jason Macdonald, Bronson Murray, Michael Paterson, Nasi Manu, Kahn Fotuali'i, Ryan Crotty, Adam Whitelock.
...Its better when you beat their best... nonetheless no mercy will be given to men from the Shaky Isles Pony club by the Wild Horses come game time…:salut:
Canterbury to go on crusade without stars
Canterbury to go on crusade without stars
BY PETER FITZGERALD
20/02/2009 7:00:00 AM
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news...px?storypage=0
A depleted Canterbury Crusaders outfit will arrive in Canberra tonight with a simple message for the ACT Brumbies write us off at your own peril.
All Blacks stars Richie McCaw, Brad Thorn and Leon MacDonald were yesterday left out of the the Crusaders side to tackle the Brumbies at Canberra Stadium tomorrow night.
The trio, which has played 254 Super rugby games and 146 Tests between them, failed to overcome injuries sustained during their round-one win against the Waikato Chiefs last weekend.
ACTTAB Sportsbet reacted quickly to the news of their withdrawal yesterday morning, shortening the Brumbies from $1.95 outsiders into $1.65 favourites by late yesterday.
The Crusaders drifted from $1.85 to $2.20.
Without the trio the Crusaders will field one of their most inexperienced teams of the past decade.
Also missing from the side that beat the Brumbies 34-3 in Christchurch last year are All Blacks Daniel Carter, Mose Tuiali'i, Scott Hamilton, Ali Williams and Greg Somerville.
While on paper the seven-time champion appears drained for talent, its coach Todd Blackadder put on a brave face yesterday when asked how the loss of the three stars would impact on his team's chances of victory tomorrow night.
''They're major losses, there's no point hiding that, but are they losses we can't overcome? Absolutely not,'' Blackadder told The Canberra Times.
''Actually I'm not that concerned. I don't keep focus too much on what we don't have. It's about what we do have that we look at.
''Players will step up. One thing this organisation has always prided itself on is being able to get out of tough situations and I expect this challenge we face will be no different.''
The three replacements named to fill the gaping holes have minimal Super rugby experience.
Stephen Brett, who will fill in for MacDonald at fullback, has played 14 matches.
George Whitelock set to go head-to-head with George Smith at openside flanker due to McCaw's withdrawal made his debut off the bench last week while Isaac Ross has 14 caps, compared to Thorn's 53.
Despite the obvious lack of experience, Brumbies coach Andy Friend refused to buy into the theory that the Crusaders would be easier to beat in tomorrow night's round-two clash.
''They play a certain style of game where it doesn't matter who is wearing jerseys one to 15,'' Friend said.
''We're facing 15 blokes in red and black and they'll be good, very good.
''They'll look to us to make errors so we've got to be good at our game, make sure we're patient.''
Brumbies flanker Smith appeared disappointed yesterday when finding out he would not come up against his great rival McCaw.
The pair has produced some great battles over the years at the breakdown in both Super rugby games and Test matches.
Smith said his preparation for tomorrow's match would be the same as any other, despite knowing he would be battling against a relative no-name in Whitelock.
''The thing is, you know what you're going to get with McCaw, he's always a quality pilferer of the ball,'' Smith said.
''From what I've heard of Whitelock he's a very competent player and someone to look out for.''
The Brumbies will have their captain's run at Canberra Stadium this morning.
The Crusaders will have their final training session in Christchurch before a late flight to Canberra today.
TOMORROW
Super 14 round two: ACT Brumbies v Canterbury Crusaders at Canberra Stadium, 7.40pm. TV time: Live on Fox Sports 2.
