Round four of the 2015 Super XV competition gets underway tomorrow and it will see the ACT Brumbies host the Western Force at GIO stadium @ 19:40 AEDT. The Brumbies have made a solid start to their campaign having only lost one game (away to the Chiefs) where as the Force after knocking over the defending champs in Sydney have lost some form in recent weeks.
Last week
In round three the Brumbies got a tight (5pt) win away from home in Melbourne in trying conditions (a very wet 2nd half). The Brumbies missed 26 tackles and conceded 3 line breaks but managed to keep a clean sheet (as far as tries are concerned). Their coach applauded their guts and determination to close out such a close contest and was thankful they got the four points against a much improved Rebels side.
The Force had a game to forget last week going down by more than four converted tries (29pts) at home to the red hot Hurricanes. They missed 30 tackles, which resulted in a staggering 11 line-breaks (5 tries conceded and Savea bombed a sitter). The Force also lost 3 scrums on their own feed. The Force coach spoke about it being a hard game to win when you’re losing collisions on both attack and defence as well as his disappointment in gifting field position with turnovers.
Teams
Brumbies v Force
 |  | 
|
|---|---|---|
| Scott Sio | 1 | Pek Cowan |
| Stephen Moore | 2 | Nathan Charles |
| Ben Alexander | 3 | Tetera Faulkner |
| Rory Arnold | 4 | Sam Wykes |
| Sam Carter | 5 | Steve Mafi |
| Scott Fardy | 6 | Brynard Stander |
| Jarrad Butler | 7 | Chris Alcock |
| Ita Vaea | 8 | Ben McCalman |
| Nic White | 9 | Alby Mathewson |
| Matt Toomua | 10 | Zack Holmes |
| Joe Tomane | 11 | Nick Cummins |
| Christian Lealiifano | 12 | Solomoni Jnr Rasolea |
| Tevita Kuridrani | 13 | Kyle Godwin |
| Henry Speight | 14 | Marcel Brache |
| Robbie Coleman | 15 | Luke Morahan |
| Reserves | ||
| Josh Mann-Rea | 16 | Heath Tessmann |
| JP Smith | 17 | Chris Heiberg |
| Ruan Smith | 18 | Oliver Hoskins |
| Jordan Smiler | 19 | Wilhelm Steenkamp |
| Blake Enever | 20 | Kane Koteka |
| Michael Dowsett | 21 | Ian Prior |
| James Dargaville | 22 | Sias Ebersohn |
| Jesse Mogg | 23 | Luke Burton |
| Location: | GIO Stadium, Canberra | |
| Kickoff: | Fri 6 Mar 19:40 | |
| Referee: | Marius van der Westhuizen | |
| Assistant Ref 1: | Angus Gardner | |
| Assistant Ref 2: | Andrew Lees | |
| TMO : | Ian Smith |
Brumbies
Unchanged since last week, still only Pocock and Auelua in the suits from their best on paper 23.
Force
Zack Holmes retains his place at 10 ahead of Ebersohn, which worked in the trial against the Brumbies but it’s Nick Cummins returning to the left wing for the Force that has most people talking. Alcock returns to start after a week off with a leg injury forcing Stander to 6 which covers Cottrell who is out with an ankle injury. Steenkamp is on the bench to play his first super rugby game for the Force this season. Prior is sitting on 49 SXV caps, ‘prior’ to this game, 25 of those were with the Brumbies.
Key Match-ups
Vaea v McCalman
Vaea will make a solid contribution as always to the Brumbies but this is where, in the back row, the Force have the greatest edge. McCalman’s work rate is second to none and he has continued to be able to make an astonishing amount of tackles and runs in the absence of Hodgson. McCalman is also a lot quicker than Vaea, and has Test match experience in variety of different roles. Vaea successfully nullified Higginbotham in a number of ways last week (yellow card helped too) but he will need to be fitter to keep McCalman off the top of the run metres list.
Kuridrani v Godwin
Mouth watering clash of the Outside Centres. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out. Its like Mortlock playing against a guy with the potential to be the next BOD. Kuridrani will be looking to get an early run or make an early hit and rustle Godwin’s feathers. Godwin will be looking to use his footwork and creativity to show up the powerful Fijian- Australian. Kuridrani has more experience and weapons inside him but a good outing here could show Wallaby selectors that Godwin is a genuine option at 13 behind Kuridrani and AAC.
Player to Watch
Nick Cummins
First game back from Japan and the Honey Badger will be hungry for some brumby meat. Matching up against Henry Speight who showed him a thing or two in Canberra last year only for the tides to turn when the two lined up in the Wallaby – Barbarians game last spring tour. The Badger personifies the effort the Western Force stand for and this lifts players around him. I also expect more Brumby and visiting supporters at the game due to his inclusion.
Biased Prediction
Despite winning on the road in round one and the Badger being back I think this is a bridge too far for the Force. They didn’t offer enough on attack last week and conceded plenty. The home side’s driving maul and scrum dominance alone should mean Lilo’s personal point haul will be greater than the total of the Force’s I’m afraid. Brumbies 45 – 9 (6 tries to zip).
