The Super Rugby Qualifying Rounds kick off in Canberra on Saturday morning SA time when the ACT Brumbies hosts the current champions, the Chiefs. The Brumbies ended 4th on the combined Super Rugby log and the Chiefs 5th.
Robbie Coleman returns to the Brumbies starting side on Saturday when his team takes on the Chiefs in their Super Rugby Qualifier at GIO Stadium. Coleman’s elevation to the starting side shifts Clyde Rathbone out of the matchday 23, with rookie prop Allan Alaalatoa’s inclusion on the bench the only other change to last week’s squad.
With seven tries to his name in 2014, Coleman leads the Brumbies try-scoring tally alongside his fellow-back-three member, Jesse Mogg. It’s been a big season for the Brumbies outside backs, with Henry Speight, Joe Tomane, Pat McCabe, Mogg and Coleman combining for a total of 22 five-pointers.
Coleman was instrumental in guiding the Brumbies to victory over the Chiefs in their first encounter of 2014, making more tackles than any of his backline colleagues other than centre pairing of Tevita Kuridrani and Christian Lealiifano. “It was tough watching the boys play so well last week and not being a part of it,” said Coleman. “I thought they were outstanding in pretty much everything they did. I’ll be looking to build on that momentum this week. I want to be able to add to that performance. “The last few weeks I’ve had some issues with my quad and as a result my speed probably hasn’t been where it needs to be. That’s all resolved now though and I’m looking forward to taking on the Chiefs.”
Alaalatoa’s debut inclusion comes at the expense of JP Smith. Alaalatoa was a star member of the Australian U20’s at the most recent Junior World Cup in New Zealand and follows the debut of his brother Michael who made his first appearance for the Waratahs last weekend.
Brumbies: 15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Robbie Coleman, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Nic White, 8 Ben Mowen, 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Leon Power, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Josh Mann-Rea, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Ruaidhri Murphy, 17 Ruan Smith, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Fotu Auelua, 20 Tom McVerry, 21 Michael Dowsett, 22 Joe Tomane, 23 Pat McCabe.
The Chiefs made just one change to their team to play the Brumbies in the opening match of the Super Rugby play-offs, in Canberra on Saturday.
Dwayne Sweeney will start at fullback and Tom Marshall has been moved to the bench.
The Chiefs have to reverse a thumping loss the last time they played the Brumbies if they are to keep their Super Rugby title defence alive this weekend.
The back-to-back champions take on the Brumbies in Canberra in a rematch of last year’s Final.
The Chiefs were clobbered 41-23 in Canberra in April, with the Brumbies outscoring the Kiwis five tries to two.
Chiefs: 15 Dwayne Sweeney, 14 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 13 Tim Nanai-Williams, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Aaron Cruden (Captain), 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Liam Squire, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Mike Fitzgerald, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Mahonri Schwalger, 1 Jamie Mackintosh
Replacements: 16 Nathan Harris, 17 Pauliasi Manu, 18 Nick Barrett, 19 Matt Symons, 20 Tevita Koloamatangi, 21 Augustine Pulu, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Tom Marshall.
Date: Saturday 19 July
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Kick-Off: 09:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 21:40 NZ Time, 09:40 GMT)
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Rohan Hoffmann (Australia), James Leckie (Australia)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)