LIVE: 'Sombre' note to intriguing Super Rugby final

A penny for the thoughts of All Blacks manager Ian Foster.

After naming Sam Whitelock in his Rugby Championship squad connected Sunday, Foster said helium was expecting the Crusaders great's niggly Achilles to support him sidelined for Saturday's Super Rugby Pacific last against the Chiefs.

"We surely wouldn't expect him to play based connected the aesculapian information that we've got with his Achilles."

"We volition instrumentality it close to the lukewarm up for him," Robertson told reporters.

"He's trained highly well, done everything each week, it's looking positive."

It would beryllium Whitelock's last crippled for the storied franchise earlier taking up a declaration successful France adjacent season.

"It's massive, he's evidently a fable of our nine and a fable of New Zealand rugby. I cognize he's worked highly hard implicit the past mates of weeks, and sat determination with his fingers crossed, hoping that we'd get to the final," Crusaders halfback Mitchell Drummond said.

"Now, we're here, it's unbelievable that he's fixed himself an accidental to person 1 past ace successful the jersey."

Whitelock has replaced Quinten Strange successful the Crusaders 2nd row.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs person besides named a settled broadside with Pita Gus Sowakula getting the motion up of caller All Blacks prime Samipeni Finau astatine blindside flanker.

CHIEFS (15-1): Shaun Stevenson, Emoni Narawa, Alex Nankivell, Anton Lienert-Brown, Etene Nanai-Seturo, Damian McKenzie, Brad Weber (co-c), Luke Jacobson, Sam Cane (co-c), Pita Gus Sowakula, Tupou Vaa'i, Brodie Retallick, George Dyer, Samisoni Taukei'aho, Aidan Ross

Reserves: Tyrone Thompson, Ollie Norris, John Ryan, Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Samipeni Finau, Cortez Ratima, Josh Ioane, Rameka Poihipi

CRUSADERS (15-1): Will Jordan, Dallas McLeod, Braydon Ennor, Jack Goodhue, Leicester Fainga'anuku, Richie Mo'unga, Mitch Drummond, Christian Lio-Willie, Tom Christie, Sione Havili Talitui, Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett (c), Oli Jager, Codie Taylor, Tamaiti Williams

Reserves: George Bell, Kershawl Sykes-Martin, Reuben O'Neill, Quinten Strange, Dom Gardiner, Willi Heinz, Fergus Burke, Chay Fihaki

The clash of the Chiefs and Crusaders successful the Super Rugby Pacific last successful Hamilton connected Saturday (5.05pm kickoff AEST) is some a rubric decider and finale, an ending and farewell for starring figures successful some franchises.

Coach Scott Robertson volition effort to pb the Crusaders to a seventh consecutive rubric earlier helium steps down to await the opening of his tenure arsenic manager of the All Blacks.

Robertson besides won 4 titles with the Crusaders arsenic a player.

Veteran All Blacks fastener Sam Whitelock has been pencilled into the Crusaders starting lineup arsenic helium struggles with an Achilles tendon injury.

Robertson has said helium volition springiness Whitelock until gametime to beryllium his fittingness to marque his 178th and last quality for the Christchurch team.

Whitelock volition determination to France aft this year's Rugby World Cup to play for Pau.

All Blacks five-eighth Richie Mo'unga besides volition marque his past quality for the Crusaders up of his post-World Cup departure for Japan.

The Chiefs besides volition beryllium saying farewell to a stalwart connected Saturday night.

Lavishly bearded escaped guardant Pita Gus Sowakula is heading to France.

He has been chosen successful the Chiefs starting lineup up of caller All Black Samipeni Finau arsenic an acknowledgement of his work to the squad implicit the past 5 years.

Those departures adhd a sombre enactment to a last which already has galore intriguing aspects.

The Chiefs person mislaid lone 1 lucifer connected their mode to the final, though they faced choky struggles successful their 2 playoff matches against the Reds and Brumbies.

The Crusaders mislaid 4 matches during the regular season, including 2 against the Chiefs.

But they person travel into their ain successful the playoffs — arsenic they truthful often bash — posting important wins implicit the Drua and Blues.

The playoffs are the Crusaders' blessed spot - they person been successful their existent concern truthful often, they cognize the regular of finals week by heart.

"It ne'er gets old," Robertson said.

"These weeks are peculiar and successful your ain mode you marque it special. It's a 1 disconnected game.

"You hole with the deepest prep and you've got to bask it. You're walking into a unit situation and the Crusaders emotion these moments."

For the Chiefs, it's their archetypal finals week since 2013 erstwhile they won the 2nd of their 2 Super Rugby titles.

They person the privilege of hosting the last aft finishing successful apical spot successful the regular play and they volition play successful a sold retired stadium, astir apt successful bedewed conditions.

Chiefs fans clatter cowbells arsenic a motion of enactment for their squad and a notation to their region's dairy farming heritage.

The dependable is an irritant to visiting teams, thing the Chiefs are blessed to exploit.

"The cowbells won't beryllium the quality but they volition surely marque a difference," manager Clayton McMillan said.

"It's not a pleasant acquisition going down to Christchurch successful the mediate of wintertime and being connected the extremity of their parochialism.

"But I've besides experienced what it's similar present erstwhile the cowbells are ringing and 25,000 radical are vocal getting down the team. We're going to request them successful their colours, large and arrogant and making definite the absorption understands that they're a agelong mode distant from location and it's our backyard."

The Crusaders erstwhile again look to beryllium heading into the last with a afloat sail, carried on powerfully connected the winds of signifier and assurance which picked up during the archetypal 2 playoff rounds.

But the Chiefs person shown that they won't beryllium blown implicit astatine home.

Far from seeing their constrictive wins implicit the Reds and Brumbies arsenic a motion of weakness, they spot it arsenic a cleanable mentation for the last which typically volition beryllium tight.

The Chiefs were the champion antiaircraft squad during the regular play and they showed against the Brumbies that their defence is pugnacious to breach.

"We deliberation we tin bushed them and it surely helps being astatine home," McMillan said.

"But you conscionable person to respect the Crusaders legacy. They cognize however to crook up astatine this clip of year. We cognize what's coming truthful it should beryllium a humdinger."