17/04/2008 08:43

Sydney - Crusaders coach Robbie Deans has recalled all his available top players to protect his team's unbeaten record in what promises to be one of their biggest Super 14 tests this season against the Chiefs on Friday.

The six-time southern hemisphere provincial rugby champions are on a run of eight wins and lead South Africa's Sharks by seven points after nine rounds.

Deans had the luxury of fielding a second-string outfit in last week's 31-6 win over the lowly Lions at home, but this time the Crusaders confront the Chiefs, coming off three successive victories.

The Chiefs have only beaten the Crusaders three times in Super rugby -- 27-26 in 1996, 25-23 in 1998 and 30-24 last year -- but Deans is wary of their threat in Hamilton.

The Crusaders are mindful that the Chiefs beat them in last year's final round-robin match and ruined their home semi-final chances.

"They have some dangerous strike players and the ability to score tries from anywhere on the park, especially from turnover, so concentration, discipline and accuracy is going to be vital," said Deans.

"They're confident, they're playing well and it will be critical that we match the level of enthusiasm they bring to the contest."

Chiefs coach Ian Foster has named an unchanged 15 from their last outings against the Highlanders and Brumbies.

"Chiefs and Crusaders matches are always great occasions and the fact they come to us unbeaten this year just makes this game even more exciting," Foster said.

The unbeaten Sharks will be keenly awaiting the Crusaders' result as they attempt to reel in some of their lead against the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday.

The Sharks have scrambled to a 13-13 draw against the Hurricanes and a 19-17 win over the Highlanders so far on their Australasian tour, but the two-time champion Brumbies will be tough to beat at home.

The ninth-placed Brumbies are also expected to be fired up after this week's announcement that coach Laurie Fisher's contract will not be renewed next season and he will be replaced by Andy Friend, the Australian coach of English premiership club Harlequins.

The Durban team are preparing themselves for a massive effort on defence as well as on attack after having analysed the Brumbies' last two games.

"Their past two opponents, the Chiefs and the Blues, had to make over 400 tackles between them," assistant coach John Plumtree said.

"The Brumbies are a very patient side and extremely good at recycling the ball through phase after phase as they probe for a weakness in your defence."

There is another terrific match in prospect in Cape Town on Saturday when the third-placed Hurricanes take on the seventh-placed Stormers.

"This is one helluva important game for us," said Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus.

With five matches to play and only eight points the difference between the Sharks and the eighth-placed Chiefs, the race for next month's playoffs is one of the tightest in years.

"They've got a good scrum and lineout and great backs who in the past did not always play for the full 80 minutes. That's not the case this year," Erasmus said of the Hurricanes.

"To come through we will have to do the small things right in a match which should be really close."

The Waratahs, who have beaten the Blues and Force since announcing that coach Ewen McKenzie would not be retained next season, must get maximum points against the Lions at home on Saturday to stay in the top four.

In this weekend's remaining games, the sixth-placed Force are away to the Reds in Brisbane on Friday and the Bulls are at home to the Highlanders in Pretoria on Saturday.