Chiefs star Anton Lienert-Brown headlines changes for Crusaders clash
Chiefs midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown has returned to his side’s starting lineup for their Super Rugby Pacific clash against the Crusaders at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday.
Lienert-Brown has endured a delayed start to the season, missing the opening round of the campaign as he continued to recover from the partially dislocated shoulder he suffered while on All Blacks duty last November.
The 26-year-old marked his return from that injury from the bench last week as the Chiefs fell to a 24-22 defeat at the hands of the Blues at Eden Park in Auckland.
In light of that result, head coach Clayton McMillan has made a total of seven changes to his starting lineup, with Lienert-Brown’s addition to the midfield one of four backline changes.
Two of those come in the halves, where All Blacks halfback Brad Weber, who notched up his 100th Chiefs match last week, and first-five Josh Ioane have made way for Xavier Roe and Bryn Gatland, respectively.
The only other alteration out wide comes at fullback, where Emoni Narawa takes the place of Chase Tiatia in the No 15 jersey.
Up front, All Blacks prop Angus Ta’avao is promoted from the bench to make his 50th appearance for the Chiefs at No 3, while All Blacks lock Tupou Vaa’i reverts back to the second row after starting at blindside flanker last week.
Vaa’i has been replaced on the side of the scrum by Kaylum Boshier, who joins Gatland in making his first start of the campaign.
On the bench, two uncapped players in the form of tighthead prop Greg Dyer and halfback Cortez Ratima are in line to make their Super Rugby Pacific debuts.
Dyer and Ratima are two of four new faces in the reserves, with young first-five Rivez Reihana and midfielder Rameka Poihipi primed for their first appearances of the season.
Tom Florence, meanwhile, has been slated to play in the No 20 jersey alongside Lachlan McWhannell, with a decision to be made as to who will fill that role on the bench.
“We are excited about playing the Crusaders who have quickly established themselves as the benchmark team again,” McMillan said of his side.
“There were a lot of positives to take from the Blues match, and if we can be a little more clinical and ruthless with our possession, we have the ability to stress any team.
“That said – it all starts up front. The Crusaders try and squeeze you through their set piece, we learned that the hard way around this time last year.
“We know what’s coming and the onus is on our big boys to front up, plain and simple. If we do that we will give ourselves a chance to play in a manner our sponsors and fans will be proud of. ”
McMillan also paid tribute to Ta’avao, who will notch up half a century of appearances for the franchise since arriving from the Waratahs in 2018.
“Angus is an invaluable veteran and brings a lot to our team both on and off the field. We look forward to seeing him run out for his 50th in our jersey this Saturday.”
Kick-off for Saturday’s match is scheduled for 7:05pm.
Chiefs team to play the Crusaders
1. Aidan Ross
2. Samisoni Taukei’aho
3. Angus Ta’avao
4. Tupou Vaa’i
5. Brodie Retallick
6. Kaylum Boshier
7. Sam Cane (c)
8. Pita Gus Sowakula
9. Xavier Roe
10. Bryn Gatland
11. Etene Nanai-Seturo
12. Quinn Tupaea
13. Anton Lienert-Brown
14. Shaun Stevenson
15. Emoni Narawa
Reserves
16. Bradley Slater
17. Ollie Norris
18. George Dyer
19. Naitoa Ah Kuoi
20. Tom Florence/Laghlan McWhannell
21. Cortez Ratima
22. Rivez Reihana
23. Rameka Poihipi
Comments on RugbyPass
The shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to comments