This Friday night sees the resurgent Brumbies take on the Melbourne Rebels in Canberra in the final home game for 2011 in what also doubles as a home farewell for a number of Brumbies players.
After producing one of the upsets of 2011 in defeating the Reds last week, the Brumbies will need to be wary of a Rebels team that has already defeated them earlier in the season. Despite leaking 40 points against the Stormers in their previous match, the Rebels will fancy their chances after the inclusion of Danny Cipriani who is returning after six weeks away with a club imposed ban to address some off-field issues.
Any momentum the Brumbies have could be ruined by availability in the forward pack with France bound lock Mark Chisholm ruled out with a season ending knee injury and Number 8 Ita Vaea suspended for a week which leaves the squad very thin and needing academy players to step up to SupeRugby level.
Peter Kimlin steps up from the bench to second row, while Mitchell Chapman reverts to No. 8. With at least 10 forwards unavailable for various reasons, this match will give debut chances from the bench for academy members Tom Boidin, a young flanker from Sydney University club, and lock Sam Carter who is returning from a hamstring injury that ruled him out of a possible debut against the Stormers.
The Brumbies’ backline for this week is unchanged and the switch of Pat McCabe to inside centre by coach Tony Rea proved to be a master stroke as his strong running and defensive work caused havoc for the Reds and could do so again this week and add to his impressive line break stats so far this season. As revealed on the latest Green and Gold Rugby podcast, McCabe said tutelage from attack coach Steve Larkham has helped to improve his game and this could see him ghosting through gaps like Larkham used to do.
The Rebels will feel they have a decent chance of winning this game with numerous ex-players and coach Rod Macqueen returning to their former stomping ground. The centre pairing of Stirling Mortlock and Julian Huxley will have to lead the way to nullify Matt Giteau who has been one of the Brumbies’ best in 2011. The only issue with the constant changes in the Rebels is the inability to establish solid combinations, but Mortlock and Huxley have played together for many years and this could work in their favour.
With conditions not expected to be conducive to running rugby it could come down to a tactical kicking battle, which will mean fullback Mark Gerrard could hold the key for the Rebels. His performance in the fixture earlier in the year was close to the Rebels’ best, which was a decent feat considering it was his first game and he had only joined the team in the days leading up to the match.
The one area the visitors can hold their heads high is in their back row with consistency being the key here and Michael Lipman, Gareth Delve and Jarrod Saffy have constantly lead the way in their inaugural year. Delve has shown such promising form that he has been rewarded with a place in Wales’s preliminary squad for the World Cup. However, the back row will need to be right on their game if they are to leave Canberra with the four points.
Key Match-up: Matt Giteau v. Danny Cipriani – Giteau has been leading by example in a season that hasn’t gone to plan and will be looking to leave Canberra as a winner in his final home match. Cipriani has plenty of ground to make up, not only to himself but his team mates and will be looking to put in a similar performance to the one that saw the Rebels beat the Brumbies in Round 2.
Tip: The Brumbies have the momentum after upsetting the Reds and have looked sharp at training this week in the cold conditions. The Rebels were disappointing against the Stormers but with Cipriani back this week he will add a new dimension to their attack and bring a good kicking game. I think the home team will sneak home by 7.
Teams:
Brumbies: 15. Christian Lealiifano, 14. Henry Speight, 13. Tyrone Smith, 12. Pat McCabe, 11. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 10. Matt Giteau, 9. Patrick Phibbs (not Phipps), 8. Mitchell Chapman, 7. Julian Salvi, 6. Henry Vanderglas, 5. Peter Kimlin, 4. Ben Hand, 3. Ben Alexander, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Jerry Yanuyanutawa. Reserves: 16. Anthony Hegarty, 17. Jono Owen, 18. Sam Carter, 19. Tom Boidin, 20. Nic White, 21. Robbie Coleman, 22. Andrew Smith.
Rebels: 15. Mark Gerrard, 14. Richard Kingi, 13. Julian Huxley, 12. Stirling Mortlock, 11. Cooper Vuna, 10. Danny Cipriani, 9. Nick Phipps (not Phibbs), 8. Gareth Delve, 7. Michael Lipman, 6. Jarrod Saffy, 5. Kevin O’Neill, 4. Al Campbell, 3. Greg Somerville, 2. Ged Robinson, 1. Rodney Blake. Reserves: 16. Adam Freier, 17. Laurie Weeks, 18. Adam Byrnes, 19. Tim Davison, 20. Lachlan Mitchell, 21. Peter Betham, 22. Afusipa Taumoepeau.
Referee: Glen Jackson (NZ)
Assistant referees: Ian Smith (Aus), Steve Hardy (Aus)
TMO: Matt Goddard
