The Brumbies put their credentials on the line this week when they take on the Bulls in Pretoria.
This tour of South Africa for the Brumbies will prove either that they are the real deal or are just the beneficiaries of a fluke start to the season. It could also answer any lingering questions about the standard of the Australian Conference which has copped plenty of criticism of late.
By virtue of the conference system that was agreed to all by SANZAR partners, the Brumbies find themselves third as the leading Australian team with 24 points with the Bulls occupying a wildcard spot one position behind yet have 29 competition points.
After a week of acclimatising on the highveld with some shooting and other activities, the Brumbies go into this game knowing that the local crowd will be baying for their blood. Many of the touring squad would not have experienced anything quite like this environment and this could either work in their favour or they crumble under the pressure once they discover that what unfolds was not in the touring brochure.
Coach Jake White has warned his side to expect a war of words from the locals about his South African ties in the lead up to the game that could distract his young side.
White has made a few changes after thrashing the Rebels last week and has gone with size once again to combat the Bulls who themselves are doing well after a host of changes during the off season that included the departures of Victor Matfield and Fourie du Preez, amongst others.
Prop Ben Alexander comes back into the starting side at loosehead to boost his sides chances of winning the front row battle.
The other change sees Andrew Smith return at outside centre at the expense of Tevita Kuridrani who was impressive in his debut last week.
The one thing the Brumbies must not do is drop their heads if things don’t go their way early on. In the Bullring a defecit of 5 or so can quickly become 15 or 20 points and then it becomes a game of saving face.
Discipline will also be a high priority and with Springbok sharp shooter Morne Steyn in form, he could be landing penalty goals from inside his own half with minimal effort.
Teams
Brumbies: 15. Jesse Mogg, 14. Henry Speight, 13. Andrew Smith, 12. Pat McCabe, 11. Joe Tomane, 10. Christian Lealiifano, 9. Nic White, 8. Fotu Auelua, 7. Michael Hooper, 6. Ben Mowen (c), 5. Sam Carter, 4. Scott Fardy, 3. Dan Palmer, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Ben Alexander.
Res: 16. Anthony Hegarty, 17. Ruaidhri Murphy, 18. Peter Kimlin, 19. Ita Vaea, 20. Ian Prior, 21. Robbie Coleman, 22. Tevita Kuridrani.
Bulls: 15. Zane Kirchner, 14. Akona Ndungane, 13. JJ Engelbrecht, 12. Wynand Olivier, 11. Bjorn Basson, 10. Morné Steyn, 9. Francois Hougaard, 8. Pierre Spies (c), 7. Jacques Potgieter, 6. CJ Stander, 5. Juandré Kruger, 4. Wilhelm Steenkamp, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1. Dean Greyling/Dawie Steyn.
Res: 16. Bongi Mbonambi, 17. Frik Kirsten, 18. Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 19. Arno Botha, 20. Jano Vermaak, 21. Louis Fouché, 22. Johann Sadie.
Details
This match will take place in Pretoria and will be shown on Fox Sports 3 at the delightfully early time of 3:10am on Sunday. Those interested to see how the Brumbies go against a formidable forward pack and insomniacs will probably be the only viewers.
Listeners to Green and Gold Rugby’s podcast will hear a familiar voice when Marius Jonker controls this match.
Referee: Marius Jonker (SA)
Assistant referees: Lourens van der Merwe (SA), Stefan Breytenbach (SA)
Television match officials: Johann Meuwesen (SA)
Game Breaker
The battle of the fly halves will decide the winner of this game. Christian Lealiifano, who this week signed a 2 year contract extension, has been one of the Brumbies best this year and his goal kicking has also been impressive.
But in this match he comes up against the Springbok 10 in Morne Steyn who seems to be getting the best out of the players outside him so far this season.
The fearless prediction
I can’t see the Brumbies winning this one however if they stick to their game plan and don’t lose their focus they could surprise the hostile crowd.
The first half will be crucial as most visiting teams tend to fade and the Brumbies know this only too well after leading at half time in the last fixture at Loftus before going down 50-32.
If the Brumbies lose by less than 15 then they can claim a moral victory.
