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Teams unchanged for S15 final

Brisbane - The Reds and Crusaders have both named unchanged starting line-ups for Saturday's Vodacom Super Rugby final at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

Kick-off is at 11:40 SA time.

It will be only the second time this season that the Reds have retained the same run-on team, the only other occasion being in Round 13 against the Blues and then in Round 15 against the Crusaders after coming off a bye. Ironically the repeat will come against the same two teams with the Reds having faced the Blues in last week' semi-finals.

The Crusaders, meanwhile, have confirmed that scrumhalf Andy Ellis has been cleared fit and will run out with the same XV players that started the semi-final against the Stormers. Ellis was cleared on Thursday morning, meaning that there will be 12 capped past or present All Blacks in the starting XV, over half of whom would be considered automatic selections.

Ellis suffered knee and shoulder bruising in the Crusaders 29-10 semi-final victory over the Stormers in Cape Town, and while he has sat out most of the Crusaders training sessions this week, will start, meaning that Kahn Fotuali’i will come off the bench.

Commenting on his selection, Reds coach Ewan McKenzie said: “At this stage you benefit greatly from continuity and the team we selected against the Blues did a wonderful job and deserve another opportunity. We’ve benefited from a whole squad effort in 2011 but feel we have the right mix of experience and talent to be successful on Saturday night.”

“Playing in a final is something you treasure and never take for granted, and I know the team is excited by the opportunity in front of them,” McKenzie said.
 
The availability of Ellis will be key for the Crusaders, as one of the deciding areas of the Super Rugby final will be at halfback, with the 9/10 axis of both teams boasting Test representatives.

Ellis has been in strong form of late, and is seen as a key link between the Crusaders back row - consisting of Kieran Read, Richie McCaw and George Whitelock - and his team’s backline, run by Dan Carter.

Luke Romano, who flew out from South Africa later due to contracting chickenpox, trained with the team and has been cleared to sit on the bench.

“We’ve had a good week here in Brisbane and the players look full of energy,” coach Todd Blackadder said. “It’s going to be a great occasion and we know there will be a lot of Crusaders fans at the ground cheering us on.”

The match will be refereed by Bryce Lawrence with Stuart Dickinson and Vinny Munro as Assistant Referees. George Ayoub is the TMO.

Teams:

Reds:
15 Jono Lance, 14 Rod Davies, 13 Anthony Faingaa, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Radike Samo, 7 Beau Robinson, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 James Horwill (captain), 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Ben Daley

Substitutes: 16 James Hanson, 17 Guy Shepherdson, 18 Adam Wallace-Harrison, 19 Jake Schatz, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Ian Prior, 22 Will Chambers

Crusaders:
15 Tom Marshall, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 George Whitelock, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Wyatt Crockett

Substitutes: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Luke Romano, 19 Matt Todd, 20 Kahn Fotuali'i, 21 Matt Berquist, 22 Ryan Crotty

2011 season statistics:

Reds:
Points for: 459 – Tries scored: 49
Points against: 322 – Tries conceded: 33
Record at home in 2011: Played 9, Won 8, Lost 1
Leading point’s scorer: Quade Cooper 220
Leading try scorers: Scott Higginbotham, Luke Morahan 6

Crusaders:
Points for: 465 – Tries scored: 48
Points against: 283 – Tries conceded: 28
Record away in 2011: Played 9, Won 8, Lost 1
Leading point’s scorer: Dan Carter 181
Leading try scorers: Sean Maitland 9



Final captains: James Horwill (Reds) and Richie McCaw (Crusaders)
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