Afternoon Super Rugby returns to Canberra when the Brumbies take on the Free State Cheetahs from South Africa this Saturday afternoon.
After dominating the faceless men last week, the Brumbies are keen to get back onto the park and make their play the headline after a week of speculation over coach Jake White’s future. The week off has given the home side a chance to refresh and tinker with a few things for this vital clash.
The Cheetahs are coming off a hiding at the hands of the Bulls and won’t be as placid as the ones Ben Mowen and Joe Tomane faced at the zoo earlier in the week. Captain Ben Mowen knows only too well that underestimating the Cheetahs can result in a less than favourable result after his time with the Waratahs last year and with the memories of booing from the home fans, says they shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Teams
Brumbies: 15. Jesse Mogg, 14. Henry Speight, 13. Andrew Smith, 12. Christian Lealiifano, 11. Pat McCabe, 10. Matt Toomua, 9. Nic White, 8. Ben Mowen (c), 7. Ita Vaea, 6. Peter Kimlin, 5. Sam Carter, 4. Ben Hand, 3. Dan Palmer, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Ben Alexander.
Res: 16. Anthony Hegerty, 17. Ruaidhri Murphy, 18. Scott Fardy, 19. Michael Hooper, 20. Ian Prior, 21. Zack Holmes, 22. Joe Tomane.
Cheetahs:15. Hennie Deniller, 14. Cameron Jacobs, 13. Robert Ebersohn, 12. Philip Snyman, 11. Willie Le Roux, 10. Johan Goosen, 9. Tewis de Bruyn, 8. Ashley Johnson, 7. Philip van der Walt, 6. Heinrich Brussow, 5. Izak van der Westhuizen, 4. George Earle, 3. WP Nel, 2. Adrian Strauss (c), 1. Coenie Oosthuizen.
Res: 16. Trevor Nyakane, 17. Hercu Liebenberg, 18. Davon Raubenheimer, 19.Justin Downey, 20. Piet van Zyl
21. Sias Ebersohn, 22. Ryno Benjamin
Details
The match is on Saturday afternoon with kick off at the unusual time of 3:35pm. Weather conditions are expected to be fine after a few weeks of rain, so those congregating on the eastern side will need their sunscreen.
Referee: Keith Brown (NZ)
Assistant referees: Simon Moore (Aus), Julian Pritchard (Aus)
TMO: George Ayoub (Aus)
Game Breaker
The battle of the forwards will be the focus of this match. The Cheetahs backrow possess one of the worlds best players in Heinrich Brussow and the Brumbies backrow of Kimlin, Vaea and Mowen will need to be at the same level as the Force match to keep him quiet. Despite the absence of Juan Smith the Cheetahs will still target this area with their abrasive playing style.
The front row will also be crucial and the Brumbies will need to get on top early to avoid the ambush they suffered in the match in Bloemfontein last year that saw both Cheetahs props get their names on the try scorers sheet.
The fearless prediction
The Cheetahs aren’t the best of travellers and have not beaten the Brumbies in Canberra in three previous attempts. They are coming off a heavy defeat and a long trip across the Indian Ocean and I think it could be just too much for them here. The young Brumbies appeared to have stage fright in their first match and played conservatively but with that now in the past and a week more experience I think the Brumbies by 15 that will take them to 12 competition points.
