Brumbies keep winning combinations for Lions clash
Brumbies v Bulls on camera by Hilton/ Rugby15.co.za
The Brumbies have named an unchanged line-up ahead of their opening home match of the season against the struggling Lions at Canberra Stadium on Friday.
Andy Friend’s charges enter the match having claimed two wins on their three-match tour of Perth and South Africa, including a hard-fought 19-17 win over the Stormers in Cape Town last start.
“We’re very fortunate to be able to include the same 22 players for a third consecutive week,” Friend said.
“While you definitely need that luck and consistency for a successful campaign, names on a page alone aren’t enough to win you a championship.”
“There was a lot to like about our performance last week. I thought we showed great composure against a quality opposition who will be very difficult to beat at home this year.”
The match marks the return of fly-half Matt Giteau and reserve lock Justin Harrison to Canberra Stadium for the Brumbies after long absences.
Giteau, who spent the past three seasons with the Western Force, last ran out for the Brumbies in the national capital against the Highlanders in 2006 while Harrison has not played at the ground since the 2003 decider against the Crusaders.
Meanwhile, Wallaby skipper Rocky Elsom, scrum-half Josh Valentine and winger Pat McCabe will all make their home debuts for the club.
The Brumbies have never lost to the Lions (formerly the Cats) at home, winning all eight encounters at Canberra Stadium in Super rugby.
But Friend remains wary of the perennial Super 14 battlers.
“The Lions have shown what a dangerous side they are in terms of keeping the ball alive and moving,” he said.
“They’ve shown that they are very capable of scoring a number of tries and we’d like to think we’ll also have an opportunity to play a lot more ball-in-hand, running rugby on Friday.”
“Everyone’s very excited about playing our first match in Canberra. We always get tremendous support at home and we’d love to cap it off with a win to help welcome Matt and Justin back to Canberra Stadium.”
Brumbies: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Francis Fainifo, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Josh Valentine, 8 Stephen Hoiles, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Ben Hand, 3 Salesi Maafu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Ben Alexander.
Replacements: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Guy Shepherdson, 18 Justin Harrison, 19 Mitchell Chapman, 20 Patrick Phibbs, 21 Matt Toomua, 22 Tyrone Smith.
Date: Friday, 5 March
Venue: Canberra
Kick-off: 19:40 (08:40 GMT)
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees: Nathan Pearce (Australia), Angus Gardiner (Australia)
Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)
[Info from Planet Rugby]
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