Tickets to Super Rugby Aotearoa remain the hottest property in New Zealand, with bumper crowds expected for the second round of matches this weekend.

More than 100,000 people are expected to have attended four matches by the end of round two, a remarkable figure given the plunging crowd numbers for the competition before it was stalled by COVID-19 in March.

The Chiefs are expecting to go close to their first home sellout since winning the 2012 final when they host the Blues at the 25,000-seat FMG Stadium on Saturday night.

Wellington’s Sky Stadium is on track to seat a similar number when the Hurricanes face the Crusaders a day later.

New Zealand became the first country in the world to open its doors en masse to rugby crowds last weekend, prompting a 43,000 sellout at Eden Park, breaking a 15-year-old record for a Super Rugby game on Kiwi soil.

A cold snap this week and some over-officious refereeing in the opening games has barely slowed ticket sales as the country emerges from the tedium of lockdown.

On the field, most interest will be on how the 10-time Super Rugby champion Crusaders open their campaign after last week’s bye.

Their team is typically stacked with All Blacks, including veteran Test lock Sam Whitelock who has lifted the trophy at the end of the last three seasons.

Whitelock was to have missed the season but became available when the Japanese Top League was abandoned. He has surrendered the captaincy to fellow-second rower Scott Barrett.

A Hurricanes team beaten 30-20 by the Blues have made one key change, promoting Ardie Savea to the starting team after the dynamic All Blacks back-rower came off the bench in his return from knee surgery.

The Chiefs have likewise shifted influential five-eighth Aaron Cruden from the reserves to the starting team as they seek to bounce back from the last-gasp 28-27 loss to the Highlanders.

They are still without injured All Blacks skipper Sam Cane (back).

The only changes to a winning Blues team are at flanker, where Akira Ioane and Dalton Papali’i replace injured duo Tom Robinson and Blake Gibson.

Star All Blacks playmaker Beauden Barrett is retained at fullback after a solid maiden performance there for his new team last week.