The Melbourne Rebels will hope to upset the Crusaders when they meet tonight in the 2015 Super Rugby opener in Christchurch.
The Rebels who finished last in the table in 2014 is hoping to beat a highly motivated and experienced Crusaders side.
They had strong pre‑season victories over the Reds and the Highlanders while the Crusaders had three losses to the Reds, Hurricanes and Highlanders.
The Crusaders have played the Rebels three times in Super Rugby and have won just two of those matches.
The first clash between the two sides was in Melbourne and the Rebels beat the Crusaders 19‑28.
The Rebels and Crusaders match will start at 6.35 tonight while the Brumbies will play the Reds at 8.40pm.
Crusaders
1 Joe Moody, 2 Ben Funnell, 3 Owen Franks, 4 Luke Romano, 5 Dominic Bird, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Matt Todd (c), 8 Luke Whitelock, 9 Mitchell Drummond, 10 Daniel Carter, 11 Johnny McNicholl, 12 Tom Taylor, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 14 Robbie Fruean, 15 Colin Slade
Replacements: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Alex Hodgman, 18 Wyatt Crockett, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Jordan Taufua, 21 Billy Guyton, 22 Ryan Crotty, 23 Nathaniel Apa.
Rebels
1. Toby Smith, 2. Pat Leafa, 3. Laurie Weeks, 4. Luke Jones, 5. Lopeti Timani, 6. Sean McMahon, 7. Colby Fainga'a, 8. Scott Higginbotham, 9. Nic Stirzaker, 10. Jack Debreczeni, 11. Tom English, 12. Mitch Inman ,13. Tamati Ellison ,14. Dom Shipperley, 15. Mike Harris *
Replacements: 16. Ben Whittaker, 17. Cruze Ah‑Nau, 18. Paul Alo‑Emile, 19. Sam Jeffries, 20. Scott Fuglistaller, 21. Luke Burgess, 22. Bryce Hegarty, 23. Sefanaia Naivalu
