Both the Chiefs and Crusaders have announced their teams nd squads to contest the Semi-Final at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time) on Saturday 27 July 2013.

Here are the names of the gladiators who will go to war on Saturday:

Chiefs:

Chiefs coach Dave Rennie made seven changes to his team for the Super Rugby semifinal showdown with the Crusaders at the Waikato Stadium this Saturday.

Andrew Horrell and Charlie Ngatai are the starting midfield pair and are joined by Asaeli Tikoirotuma on the wing and Gareth Anscombe at fullback.

Rhys Marshall comes onto the bench, replacing Mahonri Schwalger – who is kept out this week with a knee injury.

Marshall is joined among the replacements by prop Ben Afeaki, Bundee Aki and Robbie Robinson.

Rennie said the right to host this game is the result of a lot of hard work by a lot of people and that his side is excited by the challenge of keeping their title defence alive against a team who has won the competition seven times before.

“We had an enormous amount of injuries in the first half of the campaign,” Rennie said.

“So to win our conference and finish top seed speaks volumes for the culture and depth of our squad.

“But at this stage of the season, seedings and previous results count for little. Success for us comes down to a willingness to scrap hard for each other for 80 minutes.

“The reward will be a home Final and a shot at another title,” Rennie added.

* There will be a moment’s silence at the beginning of the match to remember New Zealand player Willie Halaifonua from the Takapuna club who passed away this week.

With the weather forecast expected to be fine ticket sales are ahead of the semifinal clash from last year, with tickets still available in all areas.

There have been nearly 19,000 tickets sold for the match.

Chiefs: 15 Gareth Anscombe, 14 Lelia Masaga, 13 Charlie Ngatai, 12 Andrew Horrell, 11 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Matt Vant Leven, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Craig Clarke (captain), 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Toby Smith.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Marshall, 17 Ben Afeaki, 18 Michael Fitzgerald, 19 Sam Cane, 20 Augustine Pulu, 21 Bundee Aki, 22 Robbie Robinson.

Crusaders:

Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder selected an unchanged matchday 22 for what is being described as a ‘Test match’.

The Crusaders travel to Hamilton on Saturday to face the defending Super Rugby champions, the Chiefs, in the first of the day’s two semifinals.

The Bulls host the Brumbies in the other in Pretoria.

Blackadder’s decision to leave the team unchanged means All Black captain Richie McCaw will again play off the bench, although he is likely to get more than just the 15-minute cameo he had in the 38-9 demolition of the Reds last week.

With both sides vying to secure themselves a place in the Super Rugby Final it will be an intense, physical and passionate battle.

With some great match up’s on the cards: Ben Afeaki / Ben Tameifuna versus Wyatt Crockett, Brodie Retallick versus Sam Whitelock, Matt Todd versus Sam Cane and Kerr-Barlow versus Ellis it is billed as the ‘Test match’ of the New Zealand conference.

However it all may come down to the battle of the flyhalves – Dan Carter versus Aaron Cruden.

Who will come out on top?

Either way it is set to be an intense and physical game with the victors going through to the Super Rugby Final.

The Crusaders previously met the Chiefs on 21 occasions, with the Crusaders winning two-thirds of these encounters and scoring on average nine points more a game than their Waikato counterparts.

However, the Chiefs have won the last three of the four encounters and won when it counted, in last year’s semifinal, putting an end to the Crusaders title hopes.

The two sides have met twice this season and have come out level pegging with a win a piece.

They last met in Round 19 of the competition when the Crusaders came away with emphatic 43-15 win.

Since then the Crusaders have hit their straps and have won their last five matches in a row.

Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Tom Marshall, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Tom Taylor, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read (captain), 7 Matt Todd, 6 George Whitelock, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Luke Whitelock, 19 Richie McCaw, 20 Willi Heinz, 21 Tyler Bleyendaal, 22 Adam Whitelock.

Match Details:

Date: Saturday 27 July 2013
Venue: Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
Kick-off:09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT)
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)