By DUNCAN JOHNSTONE - RugbyHeaven | Thursday, 27 March 2008
Friday night preview: The Crusaders coaching staff have called for one last effort before the front-runners take a deserved bye in the Super 14 with forwards mentor Mark Hammett demanding a "full throttle" approach against the Hurricanes at the Cake Tin. 
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Things have been going along sweetly for the Crusaders as they enjoy an eight-point lead at the top of the table. Even the championship draw has worked out well for them with a breather coming smack, bang in the middle of things.
So Hammett and his boss Robbie Deans want everything preserved by beating the Hurricanes. It's not an easy assignment but the rewards are there.
"We want to go out full throttle knowing that we have two weeks after this to recover and adjust and refocus our sights," Hammett told RugbyHeaven, emphasising that they didn't want to get ahead of themselves and saw the Canes as a huge challenge to their unbeaten status.
"I think the bye will give us a chance to reassess the next six games but this is all about this week.
"We're really excited about this as we should be," he said, agreeing that Crusaders-Hurricanes matches have developed into something special over the years.
"They always have good matchups in them ... the front row, the middle row ... right across the park really.
"Look, nothing really changes really about this week apart from the very important factor that there are four points on the line and we are heading into the bye and we want to go in there in good shape."
There is a subtle change though. Surprisingly the Hurricanes represent the first New Zealand opposition for the Crusaders. They have reigned supreme against four South African and two Australian sides.
Now they look to see how they fare under the new rules against the fifth-placed Canes, a side who have an enviable mix of talent through the tight and loose forwards and their backline.
The Hurricanes, if they can get decent ball supply, also have the ability to mix up their attack while their counter-attacking ability puts real heat on Dan Carter's kicking game.
The Crusaders believe the Western Force gave them their closest approach to a New Zealand style - not surprising given John Mitchell's influence in Perth. Deans and Hammett have run over the tape of their comeback win in round four at Subiaco Oval to look at what they can do to their own game in terms of adjustments.
"Yes, it's a bit of change of style. In terms of who we have played so far the Hurricanes are probably similar to the Force where they have the ability to muscle up front but also go wide," said Hammett.
"So we have gone back to our errors of that 20 minutes when the Force had us under the gun and isolated the key aspects of that."
This looms as the first really big match of the championship on New Zealand soil. Two old rivals right in the playoffs mix, full of All Blacks and full of feeling.
Hammett's earlier use of the word "throttle" is highly appropriate, bringing back memories of Neemia Tialata's massive paws wrapped around the throat of Richie McCaw in one encounter in Wellington where niggle ruled the night.
This is a match that will have consequences for the teams and their players. It will be closely watched by the national selectors who will see it as a game that could go close to matching the intensity of a playoffs encounter.
The Hurricanes have been scratchy. But after being walloped in Sydney in their season opener they have strung together four wins. Some have been ugly but their most recent win against the Brumbies returned some trademarks.
That was two weeks ago and how they come off the bye is anyone's guess.
But, as the Crusaders note on their team website, the Hurricanes won't lack for motivation.
The Canes know that they have been stopped by the Crusaders in three of the biggest games of the franchise's history - the semifinals of 2003 and 2005, and the fog-bound final in 2006.
While the Hurricanes have made the playoffs three times since Colin Cooper, the former Crusaders assistant-coach, took over at the helm in 2003, his old team have been his biggest nemesis: the Hurricanes have won just one from eight against the Crusaders during his term in charge.
From all of the matches that the two teams have played since Super Rugby started in 1996, the Crusaders have won 11 and the Hurricanes just three with the 1999 game an 18-18 draw.
The Hurricanes can take heart that at domestic level Wellington have eliminated Canterbury in the knockout phases of the last two Air New Zealand Cups, while the Crusaders and the Hurricanes share the spoils 2-2 since the Cake Tin opened in 2000.
As Hammett enthuses: "It's a great place to play."
And if the two teams front up with their A-games, this could be a great match to watch.
HURRICANES: 15 Cory Jane, 14 Ma'a Nonu, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Tamati Ellison, 11 Shannon Paku, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Rodney So'oialo (c), 7 Chris Masoe, 6 Jerry Collins, 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Craig Clarke, 3 Neemia Tialata 2 Andrew Hore, 1 John Schwalger. Reserves: 16 Hikawera Elliot, 17 Tim Fairbrother, 18 Jeremy Thrush, 19 Scott Waldrom, 20 Alby Mathewson, 21 Tane Tu'ipulotu, 22 Hosea Gear.
CRUSADERS: 15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Scott Hamilton, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Tim Bateman, 11 Kade Poki,
10 Daniel Carter, 9 Andrew Ellis; 8 Mose Tuiali'i, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Kieran Read, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Ben Franks. Reserves: 16. Ti'i Paulo, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Michael Paterson, 19 Nasi Manu, 20 Kahn Fotuali'i, 21 Caleb Ralph, 22 Sean Maitland.
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