The sixth round of the Buildcorp NRC will start tomorrow with front runners Melbourne Rising hosting the University of Canberra Vikings.
The home side is red hot favourite for the overall win of this inaugural season of the long awaited domestic competition with five bonus point convincing wins out of five games, but tomorrow’s game will face them with a strong opponent. The visitors have started badly with a narrow loss against Perth at home and then won two in a row, after their bye they managed a draw against the Sydney Stars and are now sitting fourth on the ladder with one game in hand.
Both teams come from a short turn around, but Rising’s Head Coach Sean Hedger doesn’t see this as an issue: “fitness is good, the players comes out of a great season” he said “I’m not expecting any problems in this aspect”.
After such a good start, maintaining the concentration in his camp doesn’t seem a problem for the hosts also due to the short time between the games: “they (the players) didn’t have time to let their mind wander” said Hedger. “They are very motivated, especially playing at home in front of friends, families and team club mates”.
Both the UC Vikings and the Rising can profit from the ties with the Brumbies and the Rebels respectively, and they’ll line up players that have had a good taste of Super Rugby. Hooker aside, a position cursed in 2014 for Australian rugby, the Vikings will display a forward line with plenty of experience, with captain Fotu Auelua bringing 33 Super Rugby caps to the contest. Connal McInerney will debut in the NRC as starting hooker for the Vikings after Seilala Lam and Mitch Wade were both taken from the field during the first half of last week’s draw against the Sydney Stars leaving the Vikings to play with a prop in the role for the rest of the game.
Similarly the Rising have demonstrated during the first five games to have the strongest scrum in the competition and a back row able to steal plenty of possession to launch the backs, where a mix of local talent and Super Rugby players has provided a lethal weapon for the team.
“I’m expecting a (Viking’s) forwards technically very correct with a strong maul, similar to the Brumbies, and a great effectiveness in recycling the ball” said Hedger about the opposition, when Vikings Head Coach Dan McKellar pointed out the danger represented by the Rising’s backs: “Melbourne have three of the competition’s top five try scorers, two of the top five point scorers and their for-and-against is about 120 points clear of the Country Eagles, who are just above us in second place” he said.
The prediction is for a tough game with both teams going in for a win. The home side has the better chances to take home the points, but may lose his first bonus point of the season.
Melbourne Rising
1 Cruze Ah-Nau
2 Tom Sexton
3 Paul Alo-Emile
4 Sam Jeffries
5 Cadeyrn Neville
6 Luke Jones
7 Sione Taufa
8 Lopeti Timani
9 Nic Stirzaker (C)
10 Jack Debreczeni
11 Joe Kamana
12 Mitch Inman
13 Tom English
14 Rennie Lautolo-Molimau
15 Telusa Veainu
Reserves: 16 Pat Leafa (vc); 17 Tuiatua Tuia; 18 Fereti Sa’aga; 19 Pom Simona (VC); 20 Reuben Rolleston; 21 Luke Burgess; 22 Lloyd Johansson
University of Canberra Vikings
15 Jesse Mogg (vc)
14 Jerome Niumata
13 Nigel Ah Wong
12 Rod Iona
11 Lausii Taliauli
10 Isaac Thompson
9 Michael Dowsett
8 Fotu Auelua (c)
7 Sean Doyle
6 Jarrad Butler (vc)
5 Jordan Smiler
4 Tom Staniforth
3 Allan Ala’alatoa
2 Connal McInerney
1 Jean-Pierre Smith
Reserves: 16 Michael Henry; 17 Joel Penders; 18 Les Makin; 19 Rory Arnold; 20 Rowan Perry; 21 Joe Powell; 22 Matt Hawke 23 Drew Southwell
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Kick-off: 7.30pm
Referee: Will Houston
Assistant Referees: Andrew Lees and Shannon McLachlan
TMO: Oliver Kellett
