The Brumbies have made just one change to their starting side with Siliva Siliva given an opportunity in the No 2 jumper for Friday night’s clash with the Blues.
Stephen Moore will miss his first Brumbies game through injury since 2011 after the champion hooker was given a week to recover from a niggling knee concern.
With Siliva moving into the starting side, Josh Mann-Rea comes on to the bench in what shapes as an otherwise untouched squad from the one that lost to the Rebels in Melbourne last Friday.
Director of Rugby, Laurie Fisher, said the Blues presented a significant challenge.
“Like all New Zealand teams the Blues like to play, they’ve got tremendous attacking potential. They like to throw it around a bit and they can certainly score points,” Fisher said.
“But you look at their side this year they’ve introduced a bit more structure there too which is a point of difference for them.
“They’ve got some tidy pick and drive, a little bit of mauling so they’re a different team to what they’ve been in the past.”
The Brumbies will be fighting to reverse the trend of Blues victories in the Australian capital after the Kiwis managed to eliminate the Brumbies from the 2012 Super Rugby season on their last visit.
That loss was one of the club’s most painful in recent years, causing the Brumbies to miss clinching the Australian Conference title and a spot in the playoffs. In 2013, the Brumbies managed to right some of the wrongs caused in 2012, defeating the Blues at Eden Park 20-13 in one of the team’s most clinical displays of the season.
The last time the UC Brumbies managed to beat the Blues at home was in 2009 when the side came from a half-time deficit to post a 37-15 win. Five tries highlighted the win that evening and the Brumbies will be hoping for more of the same on Friday.
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 (Captain), 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Jordan Smiler, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Scott Fardy, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Siliva Siliva, 1 JP Smith
Replacements: 16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 Ruan Smith, 18 Ruaidhri Murphy, 19 Jack Whetton, 20 Lachlan McCaffrey, 21 Conrad Hoffmann, 22 Andrew Smith, 23 Christian Lealiifano.
Date: Friday 4 April
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Kick-Off: 10:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 08:40 GMT, 21:40 NZ time)
Referee: Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)
Assistant Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia), Damien Mitchelmore (Australia)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)