Cruden is aware of the deadly combination of Black and Barrett for the Blues

Chiefs first five-eighth Aaron Cruden is well aware of the threat posed by having double pivotal roles on the field.

Cruden knows well the deadly combination that Otere Black and Beauden Barrett have that was successful for the Blues in round one of competition.

The 31-year-old is excited about the challenge with a strong chance that Saturday night’s game will feature four quality first five-eighths as Damien McKenzie will also be on the field for the Chiefs.

Cruden says he knows both players and listening to Black’s interview after the game he stated that as a first five it is always nice to have another first five on the field.

He says things flow quite naturally for teams who predominantly run with a dual pivot set up.

Cruden came off the bench in the second half of their narrow loss to the Highlanders last weekend as he was nursing a calf injury when he returned to training after lockdown.

The Chiefs are pumped up to be able to play in front of their home fans on Saturday night and so far more than 17,000 tickets have been sold and Cruden is hoping for a sell-out.

The Chiefs will take on the Blues at 7.05pm Saturday while the Crusaders will face the Hurricanes at 3.35pm Sunday.

[Source: All Blacks.com]