Western Force picks 2 debutants to play Hurricanes
Mitch Inman of Sydney University tries to break the defence during the Shute Shield Grand Final match between Sydney University and Randwick at Sydney Football Stadium on September 27, 2009 in Sydney, Australia. (September 26, 2009 - Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Emirates Western Force will debut two of their young guns in the starting XV with Mitch Inman and Ben McCalman set to tackle the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday night.
Inman will start at outside centre after Ryan Cross was declared unfit following a shoulder injury sustained in the match against the Brumbies.
McCalman joins a new look back row as Coach John Mitchell looks to re-shape his pack following injuries to flanker David Pocock and Number 8 Richard Brown.
“Ben has been very impressive during pre-season and in the minutes that he has had during trial phase and competition. He’s got a really good future and this will just be another opportunity for him to present his case as a loose forward,” Coach John Mitchell said.
“He will keep getting better and the experience that he had against the Stormers and Sharks, and the few minutes against the Brumbies will hold him in good stead going into this match.”
Matt Hodgson wears the no. 7 jersey for the first time since the 27-17 win over the Blues in March of 2008, with Sam Wykes shifting to Number 8.
It will be the second time Wykes has started in the backrow, with the impressive forward having played blindside flanker on debut for the Force in February 2008 against the Cheetahs.
A change in the front row will see Tim Fairbrother start at tighthead prop against the club he played for 58 times, with Matt Dunning shifting to the loosehead side and Nic Henderson reverting to the bench. The un-capped Ryan Tyrrell replaces Ben Whittaker on the bench as the alternate hooker.
Lock Tom Hockings wins a starting role in the second row alongside captain Nathan Sharpe, with Richard Stanford and Luke Jones providing cover for the second row and back row.
The skipper will play his 200th ‘First Class’ game when he leads his side into battle. Sharpe, who has 79 Test caps for the Wallabies, will take part in his 121st Super Rugby game this weekend. He played 70 times for the Reds, and last week became the first Australian to play 50 or more times for two clubs when he ran on against the Brumbies.
The backline has had one change with Inman joining Josh Tatupu in the centres while Brett Sheehan and Sam Harris will again team up in the playmaker positions.
The back three of Haig Sare, Dane Haylett-Petty and James O’Connor remain, and will be looking for the tryline after the team went without a five-pointer in week one.
Chris O’Young, Stefano Hunt and Joelin Rapana will start on the bench.
Tyrrell, Jones, Hunt and Rapana would make their Super 14 debuts if used as substitutes.
If all four were to play, it would take the total of club debutants in 2010 to eleven in two weeks. Only four players did the same during the entire 2009 season.
“It’s been a bit tricky on the whiteboard the last few days looking at situations, but we have a plan and will be committed to it,” Mitchell said.
“We’ll give it a good shake.
“The disappointing thing from the Brumbies match was that we didn’t get through a lot of attack and didn’t throw a lot at them. That’s where we’d like to get a lot better this week.
“We were hugely impressed by the commitment and length of time that we stayed in the match to possibly have a chance to win considering the circumstances.
“We’d really like to have a real dig and throw a lot more at the Hurricanes in attack this weekend.”
Team vs Hurricanes
20 Feb 10
08:35
Westpac Stadium
Wellington, New Zealand
1 Matt Dunning
2 Pek Cowan
3 Tim Fairbrother
4 Tom Hockings
5 Nathan Sharpe
6 Ben McCalman
7 Matt Hodgson
8 Sam Wykes
9 Brett Sheehan
10 Sam Harris
11 Haig Sare
12 Josh Tatupu
13 Mitchell Inman
14 Dane Heylett-Petty
15 James O’Connor
16 Ryan Tyrrell
17 Nic Henderson
18 Richard Stanford
19 Luke Jones
20 Chris O’Young
21 Stefano Hunt
22 Joelin Rapana
Related Posts
« Naas Olivier vital to Vodacom Cheetahs success Chiefs announce team to play Lions at Coca-Cola Park »
