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Thursday 9 July 2020 10:31, UK
The Blues have resisted the temptation to field All Blacks great Dan Carter against his former side, while the Crusaders have dropped Will Jordan to the bench.
The 38-year-old fly-half, who made a surprise return to New Zealand rugby after a gap of five years last month, made a successful return to the club game last weekend but will have to wait at least another week for his Blues debut.
Leon MacDonald has opted for three playmakers, though, as Harry Plummer moves into the No 12 jersey with TJ Faiane on the bench. Plummer is more accustomed to playing fly-half and shows how much emphasis MacDonald is putting on the Blues kicking game.
"The Crusaders are the benchmark in New Zealand rugby, so we are under no illusion about the task ahead of us," MacDonald said.
"(But) if we can implement our game plan and execute, then there is no reason why we can't provide a stern test. And if the weather plays ball, it should be a cracking game."
In the only other change, scrum-half Finlay Christie gets his first start of the tournament after making a good impact off the bench.
The Blues bench also included Karl Tu'inukuafe and Blake Gibson who have both recovered from injuries.
Meanwhile, the Crusaders have opted to not start with Will Jordan, who has been the player of the tournament so far.
Jordan has scored two tries in each of the Crusaders' last two matches to help the 10-times Super Rugby champions to a two-point lead over the Blues at the top of the standings ahead of the match in Christchurch.
However, coach Scott Robertson included the 22-year-old in his replacements when he named his side on Thursday, recalling vice captain David Havili at full-back alongside wingers George Bridge and Sevu Reece.
"It's obviously a hard decision," Robertson told local media.
"But when you've got two All Black wings and your vice captain, who was probably player of Super Rugby before COVID-19 and he got sick ... "
Crusaders: 15 David Havili, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Braydon Ennor, 12 Jack Goodhue, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo'unga, 9 Bryn Hall, 1 Joe Moody, 2 Codie Taylor (c), 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 4 Sam Whitelock, 5 Mitchell Dunshea, 6 Tom Sanders, 7 Tom Christie, 8 Whetu Douglas.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Makalio, 17 George Bower, 18 Oliver Jager, 19 Quinten Strange, 20 Sione Havili, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 Fetuli Paea, 23 Will Jordan.
Blues: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Mark Telea, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Harry Plummer, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Otere Black, 9 Finlay Christie, 1 Alex Hodgman, 2 James Parsons, 3 Ofa Tuungafasi, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 5 Josh Goodhue, 6 Akira Ioane, 7 Dalton Papalii, 8 Hoskins Sotutu
Replacements: 16 Kurt Eklund, 17 Karl Tu'inukuafe, 18 Sione Mafileo, 19 Aaron Carroll, 20 Blake Gibson, 21 Jonathan Ruru, 22 TJ Faiane, 23 Matt Duffie
