Crusaders get veteran All Black back for Super Rugby final against Chiefs

The 34-year-old, who has played 177 games for the Christchurch-based franchise, has been out of action in recent weeks with an Achilles injury but has been included in the Crusaders' run-on side in what will be his final game for the Crusaders.

Whitelock comes in as a replacement for Quinten Strange, who drops down to the replacements bench, and is set to start alongside Crusaders captain Scott Barrett in the second row.

Meanwhile, for the third week in a row, Super Rugby Pacific's defending champions will take to the field with an unchanged front row. All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor will pack down alongside Tamaiti Williams and Oliver Jager, who are the starting props.

The rest of the pack has a familiar look to it with Christian Lio-Willie continuing at number eight while Tom Christie and Sioni Talitui are the starting flankers.

In the backline, departing playmaker and Crusaders centurion Richie Mo'unga will start at flyhalf once again, while Mitchell Drummond continues alongside him at scrumhalf.

Jack Goodhue and Braydon Ennor are the starting centres once again while Will Jordan is at full-back with Leicester Fainga'anuku - who is also playing in his last game for the Crusaders - and Dallas McLeod taking their places on the wings.

Crusaders head coach Scott Robertson is delighted to have Whitelock back but said the veteran All Black still has to prove his fitness ahead of the final.

"We will take it right to the warm-up for him. He's trained extremely well, done everything all week, it's looking positive," Robertson told Stuff. He added that Whitelock will be left to make the final decision before the match.

Whitelock, who is set to join Top 14 outfit Pau after the World Cup in France later this year, will be desperate to play and Crusaders skipper Barrett is confident his second-row partner will be ready to play on Saturday.

"He's come out pretty good after training on a heavy ground... he will take confidence," said Barrett. "But he'll make the decision, whenever that is. We're anticipating he's going to play, but if not we've got a contingency plan behind that."

Meanwhile, the Chiefs have kept changes to a minimum, with Pita Gus Sowakula coming in to replace Samipeni Finau the only difference from the team that did battle in the semi-finals.

The match will be a momentous occasion for captain Sam Cane, who will make his 150th appearance for the Chiefs. The All Blacks skipper is only the second player to notch that achievement in the Hamilton-based outfit's history behind Liam Messam.

The rest of the Chiefs forwards has a familiar look to it with Brodie Retallick and Tupou Vaa'i continuing as the lock pairing while All Blacks hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho packs down alongside the starting props Aidan Ross and George Dyer.

Support off the bench for the forwards will come in the form of Ollie Norris and John Ryan for the props, Tyrone Thompson at hooker and Naitoa Ah Kuoi for the locks.

In the backline, co-captain Brad Weber will start at scrumhalf in his final game for the Chiefs, while fellow All Black Damian McKenzie slots in alongside him as the starting flyhalf.

Meanwhile, the experienced Anton Lienert-Brown starts at inside centre and he forms a strong midfield partnership with Alex Nankivell, while Etene Nanai-Seturo and Emoni Narawa are the starting wings. Shaun Stevenson continues at full-back to round off a dynamic backline.