Ryan Crotty (centre) can send a message to the All Blacks selectors when he marks fellow international Anton Lienert-Brown in the Super Rugby match in Suva on Friday night.







Letting the sun's rays soak into his bones in steamy Fiji isn't a bad way for Ryan Crotty to start his working week.

Second five-eighth Crotty certainly threw himself about when the Crusaders beat the Hurricanes 20-12 last weekend, spinning his wheels out of the defensive line at a terrific rate so he could help centre Jack Goodhue suffocate Ngani Laumape and Vince Aso's attacking talents.

So you could say he deserves a bit of a treat. Well, there could be worse places than Fiji to chill out and lob an oval ball about.

Old heads like Crotty could easily tire of the Super Rugby rat race, but when a team is 11-0 and has just had a light training run in humid conditions it must seem so much easier to prepare for the match against the Chiefs in Suva on Friday night.

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"It is crazy, everyone is pretty excited that we are here," Crotty said. "Even just walking 100m down the road from training we get stopped for 10 to 15 photos along the way.

"People have really embraced us, really made us feel welcome. It is a real privilege to be here."

It must be a welcome way to retreat from the Christchurch autumn, where temperatures have struggled to get above 13 deg and the drizzle and rain have added to the gloomy skies.

In Fiji the temperatures have hovered in the mid-20s, and the humidity has been high.

The fact the Crusaders have Seta Tamanivalu, Manasa Mataele and Jone Macilai in their travelling squad just adds to the buzz, Crotty noted.

"It is refreshing … And to see how excited their families are to see them, and the people they know over here in Fiji. How pumped they are to have them back here in the islands."

Tamanivalu gave the players some tips on the etiquette required for drinking kava when the team was welcomed on Monday night.

Crotty said he might have a drink of kava post-match to help relax his muscles, and if the Chiefs midfield of Sam McNicol and Anton Lienert-Brown are as active as their Hurricanes' counterparts were last weekend he may well be advised to take a few glugs of the good stuff.

Because Crotty could be expected to graft his way through another big shift if the Chiefs, fresh off the bye but unable to select Charlie Ngatai because his headaches have returned, try to surge down his channel.

Crotty's duel with Lienert-Brown, who this week announced he has re-signed with NZ Rugby through to 2020, should provide immense value to the All Blacks selectors as they prepare to name a squad to face the British and Irish Lions.

"They will attack the space, like the Canes did," Crotty said in reference to the midfield challenge. "They are a smart side, they always bring physicality and niggle. You just expect that."





















