Right, if I may I'd like to get back talking about the match this weekend, as it is far more interesting than an article written by an obvious WUM.
I'm really looking forwards to the battle up front, as I think both teams are strong in this area. I'd actually give the Crusaders the edge in the front row - while I like Greyling I think Owen Franks has an obvious advantage over him, while I also think Crockett has an edge over Kruger, though Crockett is still prone to getting penalized quite a bit at scrum time. I think Flynn and Ralepelle are pretty evenly matched, though I do worry a bit about Flynn's lineout throwing in pressure matches. I think the locking combinations are pretty evenly matched too. Both are well balanced with a genuine TH lock (Romano and van der Merwe) and a genuine LH lock (Whitelock and Kruger). The Crusaders usually have a pretty efficient lineout, but I do feel this is one area where the Bulls may look to target them, as Flynn is prone to the odd poor throwing game, the Crusaders are missing Read who is usually one of their main lineout targets (along with Whitelock), and the Bulls have some very good lineout exponents (Kruger and Spies in particular)
Even with Read out I think the Crusaders have an edge in the loose-forwards mainly as I think they have a better balanced trio (though their trio isn't perfectly balanced itself in my opinion). I feel Whitelock and D Potgieter sort of cancel each other out - both are hard working players who do the basics right, but aren't that dynamic. The Bulls then have two strong ball runners in Spies and J Potgieter, while the Crusaders have two opensides in Todd and McCaw. The Bulls should be able to make plenty of yards with ball in hand, though they may struggle to compete at the breakdown with the Crusaders. In contrast I'd expect he Crusaders to have an obvious edge at the breakdown, but I'm not sure whether they have enough strong ball runners to get them front foot ball for their backline - Romano and McCaw are both strong ball runner, but they will need the likes of Flynn, Crockett, G Whiteock, and Todd to really step up in this department (which they do occasionally, but not really on a consistent basis).
I think the Crusaders have an advantage in the halves too. While I'd consider Hougaard a better rugby player than Ellis, I don't know whether I'd consider him a better halfback. He is clearly a better runner with ball in hand (and is very dangerous on the counter-attack), is a great defensive halfback (much better than Ellis), but I think he is still learning the intricacies of halfback play. Ellis clearly has a stronger kicking game, and his option taking is better - it will certainly be an interesting match-up between these two. Carter vs Steyn isn't really a contest in my opinon, though it will be interesting to see whether Steyn brings his goal-kicking boots this week!
I would suggest that the Crusaders have a slight edge in the mid-field, but I'm starting to sound a tad biased! You know what you are going to get from Olivier - hard running, and plenty of tackling. I've been very impressed with Engelbrecht recently - he seems to have some great pace (I understand he is also a wing...)! I'm a bit of a fan of Crotty - I don't think he is of test standard, but he is very good at this level as he is a hard working player who does the basics right and makes few mistakes. Fruean needs a big game - he is still devastating on attack with ball in hand, but he defense doesn't seemed to have improved much, as he still charges out of the line far too often leaving a big gap for the opposition to exploit.
Guildford made quite a few errors last week, but looks on the verge of scoring a lot of tries - he always seems to be near the ball when the Crusaders get close to the opposition try-line! I think he has a clear edge on Ndungane, who is reliable, but does lack a bit of pace. On the other wing we have the complete opposite situation, with the Bulls having a massive advantage in pace. Adam Whitelock is a very reliable defender, but is going to have to watch Basson very closely, as if given any space there is no way Whitelock will catch him. I'd expect the Bulls will look to target Whitelock a lot with their kicking so he (and Dagg) will have to be on their toes. Dagg hasn't really been at his best this season, but he is still a far better player than Kirchner in my opinion.
Overall I think the Crusaders have edges in most areas - not big edges, but when taken together I think the certainly deserve to be favorites. Given they are playing at home I'm picking them to win by 10-15 points, though wouldn't be surprised if it was much clear than that....
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