The Brumbies and Reds face off in Canberra for the second time in 2018 with the Brumbies needing a win to keep in touch of their conference rivals.
With a record of two wins and three losses, the Brumbies season is slowly slipping away from them but it’s not quite last chance saloon stuff, yet.
After going down the Waratahs by seven points last week, Dan McKellar has made three changes to his side, all in the backs. Matt Lucas gets a start at scrum half and comes up against his brother, Ben. Last week’s try scorer Lausii Taliauli is out of the 23 and replaced by Chance Peni who will be looking to regain some form. At fullback, Tom Banks replaces Andrew Muirhead who is also out of the 23.
Amongst the reserves, Sam Carter is back after a slower than expected return following concussion in the Rebels game. Leslie Leuluaialii-Makin also returns and there is a potential Brumbies debut for James Verity-Amm who could be a handful if given the chance.
If the Brumbies are to get the badly needed win, there are number of things to work on and will have to be smarter with the ball. They played ok for about 30-35 minutes last week before a try either side of half time brought them undone and then had to play deep in their own half for the majority of the second half.
The Reds roll into town off the back of a well-deserved bye after their Magical mystery tour of Buenos Aires, London and Cape Town. They have the knowledge of what it takes to beat the Brumbies after they did so back in round three in Brisbane as they ground out a hard fought win.
Coach Brad Thorn has made changes to the starting side with Scott Higginbotham back at number 8 after returning in the Stormers game from the bench following a three-week suspension. His inclusion sees Caleb Timu move to blindside in place of Angus Scott-Young. Bordeaux bound Eto Nabuli is back on the left wing so Chris Feauai-Sautia is back at outside centre with Duncan Paia’aua out of the 23.
After the Reds forwards attacked the Brumbies pack and came out well on top in the last match, it’s no surprise where they will aim their focus this week. Thorn has a number of players from the Queensland Country side that won the 2017 NRC title in Canberra so his side won’t have any trouble playing in front of opposition fans but as has been the case this season, a win is a win and Thorn won’t have problems on how they do it, probably with Taniela Tupou running in the wide channels.
*EDIT* Henry Speight has been ruled out after failing a fitness test with James Dargaville taking his place on the wing.
Match ups
Kuridrani vs Kerevi
Tevita Kuridrani has had a very quiet start to the season and well below his best. Has only scored one lucky try against the Sunwolves after their scrum half passed the ball into the goal post pad for him to pounce on but with the Irish series about two months away, he will have to start performing or Kerevi could well overtake him and will have a lot to prove in what will be his 50th Super Rugby match.
Lucas v Lucas
You normally expect plenty of chat from both scrum halves but there could be a lot more as the Lucas brothers bring the backyard battles into Super Rugby. As a famous TV character once said, ‘it’s your child versus mine. The winner will be showered with praise and the loser will be taunted and booed’.
Prediction
The Reds have surprised a few with their tough as nails game plan so far but will be interesting to see if the Brumbies have learnt from their loss in Brisbane and not get ambushed by a relatively young and enthusiastic side. Reds by 1.
TEAMS
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BRUMBIES
1. Scott Sio
2. Folau Fainga’a
3. Allan Alaalatoa
4. Rory Arnold
5. Blake Enever
6. Lachlan McCaffrey
7. David Pocock
8. Isi Naisarani
9. Matt Lucas
10. Wharenui Hawera
11. Chance Peni
12. Christian Lealiifano
13. Tevita Kuridrani
14. James Dargaville
15. Tom Banks
Replacements
16. Robbie Abel
17. Faalelei Sione
18. Leslie Leuluaialii-Makin
19. Sam Carter
20. Tom Cusack
21. Joe Powell
22. Kyle Godwin
23. James Verity-Amm
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Reds
1. James Slipper
2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa
3. Taniela Tupou
4. Izack Rodda
5. Kane Douglas
6. Caleb Timu
7. Adam Korczyk
8. Scott Higginbotham
9. Ben Lucas
10. Jono Lance
11. Eto Nabuli
12. Samu Kerevi
13. Chris Feauai-Sautia
14. Filipo Daugunu
15. Aidan Toua
Replacements
16. Alex Mafi
17. JP Smith
18. Ruan Smith
19. Lukhan Tui
20. Liam Wright
21. James Tuttle
22. Hamish Stewart
23. Jordan Petaia
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MATCH DEETS
Match Deets
Kick off: 7:45pm AEST
Saturday 7 April
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe
AR1: Nick Briant
AR2: James Leckie
TMO: George Ayoub
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