The hardest conference in the tournament throws up another belter this week as the Reds look to get their season back on track against the Brumbies.
Last Week
Last week the Reds lost a hum-dinger against the Force 29-32. They created several try scoring chances but were unable to put them all away and I felt that if they hadn’t had the chance to play for a while against 14, they might not have got as close as they did, so Dick Graham & team will want to put this right. They picked up a losing bonus so stayed in 11th on the overall log and forth in the Aussie conference.
The Brumbies, after a stumble against the Rebels, got a good win over the boys from Auckland, keeping them tryless in a 26-9 win. Bernie Larkham and Laurie Fisher have got the Brumbies playing a style of rugby that makes them really tough to beat. They sit top of the Australian conference and second on the overall table, on 21 points.
The Game
The Brumbies are a really well balanced side. Their scrum is a weapon other sides are starting to fear (it’s won two penalty tries at least this season) and they have abrasive forward pack that gives a dangerous back line a lot of pill. They are well known for their kicking game which can torture a side into making the kind of mistakes that they will pounce on. The Brumbies have been penalised a lot at the breakdown in games and their tackle success rate will have caused the coaches some concern. I reckon if they clean this up, they’ll be even tougher to beat.
The Reds will be stinging from a loss to the Force last week. They did enough to win with the scores at 29-25 before a defensive lapse right at the death cost them dear. They also lapsed at half time for McCalman to score which bought the Force back into the game before the oranges. They did create a few opportunities that were not put away so that will have been a focus, along with responding to the ref so they don’t give away defensive penalties to let the opposition get a sniff. Sort those areas out and they’ll be right in this one.
The Teams
The Reds were disappointed to hear that Lachie Turner will be out for five weeks as he needs a surgeon to poke around in his ankle joint. On the plus side, Chris Feauai-Sautia and Saia Fainga’a are now available, taking a wing spot and a bench spot respectively. The return of CFS sees Jamie-Jerry Taulagi drop to the bench. Saia will finally a get a shot at his 100th Super Cap after having to sit the last 2 out. In the backs, Anthony Fainga’a comes into the side in place of Mike Harris who pulled up with a stiff Achilles. He may be on the bench if he comes good, otherwise David McDuling will be in line for his debut off the bench.
The Brumbies have their own debutante in 19 year old Tom Staniforth at lock who replaces Sam Carter with a crook knee. Elsewhere in the pack, Stephen Moore and Scott Sio come back to make an all Wallaby front row pushing JP Smith and Siliva Siliva back to the bench. This means last week’s front rankers Ruaidhri Murphy and Josh Mann-Rea drop out of the match day squad altogether. Otherwise they are unchanged.
Key Match Ups
There are guys going for Wallaby spots all over the park but given how the Brumbies’ scrum has developed this season, I’m gonna pick the front row as the key area. If the Brumbies get ascendency here and can squeeze some penalties at the ruck time as well, the Reds could be in for a long evening of second rate possession. If the Reds get parity here, their night will be a lot easier.
Fearless Prediction
The Reds don’t lose at home often and will be desperate to put things right, so I’m gonna play it tribal and pick the Reds by less than 3 in another belter.
The Teams
Reds: 15 Ben Lucas, 14 Rod Davies, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Anthony Fainga’a, 11 Chris Feauai-Sautia, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Jake Schatz, 7 Beau Robinson, 6 Eddie Quirk, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 James Hanson, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Saia Fainga’a, 17 Albert Anae, 18 Jono Owen, 19 Ed O’Donoghue, 20 Curtis Browning, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Mike Harris/Dave McDuling, 23 Jamie-Jerry Taulagi.
Brumbies:15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Joe Tomane, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Robbie Coleman, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Nic White, 8 Ben Mowen (c), 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Jordan Smiler, 5 Tom Staniforth, 4 Scott Fardy, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Siliva Silva, 17 Ruan Smith, 18 JP Smith, 19 Jack Whetton, 20 Lachlan McCaffrey, 21 Michael Dowsett, 22 Andrew Smith, 23 Christian Lealiifano
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Date: Friday, April 11
Kick-off: 19:40 local (10:40 BST, 09:40 GMT)
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees: James Leckie (Australia), Will Houston (Australia)
Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)
