The Brumbies have a chance to get back in the winners circle when they take on the Lions on Saturday night.
It hasn’t been a happy 2019 for the home side as they sit towards the bottom of the ladder but this a game they can win to give them some confidence before their two match overseas tour.
The new look Brumbies were good in the first 40 minutes against the Crusaders where they kept them scoreless before a second half fade out and is something that has been tweaked to avoid any more lapses.
The trio of Wallabies of Scott Sio, Folau Fainga’a and Rory Arnold that were rested in the game last week all return to the starting side and will be welcome additions. David Pocock was due to return from a calf injury that has plagued him since round 4 but suffered a setback late in the week and has been ruled out.
Sam Carter partners Arnold in the second row and that pair will be in for a busy night up against a solid Lions pack.
The other change to the starting side sees Tom Wright get the nod at inside centre after impressing in club footy last week with a couple of tries to his name.
The visitors are on the first stop of a three-match tour in Australasia and will be looking for a better performance after being shredded by the Sharks 42-5 on their home ground.
They will be without Warren Whiteley and Kwagga Smith through injury but the backline still looks dangerous and with Elton Jantjies pulling the reins, anything is possible especially with the pace on the wing in Aphiwe Dyantyi who will be keeping his counterpart Henry Speight on his toes.
Match ups
Folau Fainga’a vs Malcolm Marx
Fainga’a has been having a reasonable 2019 season but this will probably be the biggest test as he comes up against the Springboks hooker who has been a real pest around the ruck with 11 turnovers this season. Expect plenty of mauling from these two as Fainga’a looks to add to his try scoring tally and show the Wallabies boss that his rig is in order.
Christian Lealiifano vs Elton Jantjies
The result of this game will hinge on how these two can get their respective backlines firing. Jantjies can be erratic at times so only he knows what he’ll produce for this game. Lealiifano probably needs to revert to the basics to get his side firing.
Prediction
This is a must win game for the Brumbies against a side they have struggled with in recent games. But I think they’ll get the job done after going back to basics.
TEAMS
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BRUMBIES
1 Scott Sio
2 Folau Fainga’a
3 Allan Alaalatoa
4 Rory Arnold
5 Sam Carter
6 Pete Samu
7 Tom Cusack
8 Lachlan McCaffrey
9 Joe Powell
10 Christian Lealiifano
11 Toni Pulu
12 Tom Wright
13 Tevita Kuridrani
14 Henry Speight
15 Tom Banks
Replacements
16 Josh Mann-Rea
17 James Slipper
18 Leslie Leulua’ialii-Makin
19 Darcy Swain
20 Jahrome Brown
21 Matt Lucas
22 Irae Simone
23 Andy Muirhead
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Lions
1 Nathan McBeth
2 Malcolm Marx
3 Johannes Jonker
4 Rhyno Herbst
5 Marvin Orie
6 Cyle Brink
7 Stephan Lewies
8 Hacjivah Dayimani
9 Nic Groom
10 Elton Jantjies
11 Aphiwe Dyantyi
12 Franco Naude
13 Lionel Mapoe
14 Ruan Combrinck
15 Andries Coetzee
Replacements
16 Robbie Coetzee
17 Sti Sithole
18 Carlu Sadie
19 Wilhelm van der Sluys
20 Marnus Schoeman
21 Ross Cronje
22 Gianni Lombard
23 Sylvia Mahuza
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MATCH DEETS
Kick off: 7:45pm AEST
GIO Stadium
Saturday 13 April
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge
AR1: Brendon Pickerill
AR2: Mike Fraser
TMO: James Leckie[/one_third]
