Crusaders vs Reds

The Crusaders have played the Reds nineteen times in Super Rugby since March 1996 and the Crusaders have won almost 70% of the matches.
The Crusaders and the Reds missed out on playing each other this year due to the way the Super Rugby draw works so the last time the teams met was over a year ago in May 2012.
The Crusaders won the last match 15-11 in Christchurch but the meeting between the teams before that was the 2011 Super Rugby final which the Reds won 18-13 in Brisbane.
From the nineteen Super Rugby clashes between the teams the Crusaders have won 13 times and lost six times. There have been no draws which means the Crusaders have a record of winning 68.4% of their matches against the Reds across all venues.
The average score when the Crusaders play the Reds across all venues is : Crusaders 28 Reds 23.
This weekend the Crusaders have home advantage as the match is in Christchurch where the teams have played each other 8 times.
In those eight matches the Crusaders have won seven times and the Reds have won once. In fact the last time the Reds won in Christchurch was in 1999.
That gives the Crusaders a record of winning 87.5% of their matches against the Reds in Christchurch. The average score when the Crusaders play the Reds in Christchurch is Crusaders 35 Reds 18.
This year the Crusaders have played 8 matches at home in Christchurch and they have won all eight matches. The last time the Crusaders lost at home was in June last year and they have won their last 10 matches in the city.
Out of the last Crusaders 20 matches in Christchurch they have won 18.
The Reds have played 8 matches away from home in 2013 and they have won 4 or 50% of their away matches. Two of those matches were however in New Zealand - they beat the Chiefs and the Highlanders.
The Reds have been boosted by the return of captains James Horwill and Will Genia but in recent rounds their form has been a little mixed. They have won their last two matches but out of their last four matches they have won just those two.
The Crusaders have named Richie McCaw on their bench for this week and they have made one change to the team that beat the Hurricanes. McCaw could only come on late in the match so he could have little effect and his appearance is not guaranteed.
Without McCaw the Crusaders have been one of the form teams of late and have won their last five matches so they may not even need him.

Teams
Crusaders
1. Wyatt Crockett 2. Corey Flynn 3. Owen Franks 4. Luke Romano, 5. Sam Whitelock 6. George Whitelock ,7. Matt Todd ,8. Kieran Read (c) ,9. Andy Ellis ,10. Dan Carter ,11. Zac Guildford ,12. Tom Taylor ,13. Ryan Crotty ,14. Tom Marshall , 15. Israel Dagg
Replacements : 16. Ben Funnell 17. Joe Moody 18. Luke Whitelock 19. Richie McCaw 20. Willi Heinz 21. Tyler Bleyendaal 22. Adam Whitelock
Reds
1. Greg Holmes,2. Saia Faingaa,3. James Slipper,4. Rob Simmons,5. James Horwill (c),6. Eddie Quirk,7. Liam Gill,8. Jake Schatz,9. Will Genia (vc),10. Quade Cooper,11. Chris Feauai-Sautia,12. Jono Lance,13. Ben Tapuai,14. Dom Shipperley,15. Ben Lucas
Replacements : 16. Albert Anae,17. Jono Owen,18. Ed O'Donoghue,19. Radike Samo,20. Beau Robinson,21. Nick Frisby,22. Luke Morahan