Australia’s Wallabies return to Super Rugby following a month long break with a match in the Australian Capital Canberra between the Brumbies and the Reds.
The Brumbies and the Reds have yet to play each other this year and this weekend’s match is the only clash between the sides for 2016.
The Brumbies have won the last three matches between the teams and overall they have met 26. In those 26 matches the Brumbies have won 20 matches and drawn one.
That means that the Brumbies have won 77% of their matches against the Reds and the average score is Brumbies 28 Reds 15.
The teams have met 14 times in Canberra and the Brumbies have won 11 and lost three. This gives the Brumbies a record of winning 79% of their matches against the Reds.
The average score when the Brumbies host the Reds in Canberra is Brumbies 31 Reds 15. In their last meeting (2015) the Brumbies beat the Reds 47-3.
In terms of selection the Reds have included recent signing Leroy Houston on the replacements bench.
The match-day 23 features a number of new faces, including former Queensland and Australian Schoolboys representative Jack Tuttle, who has been named to make his Reds and Super Rugby debut at fullback.
Wallabies lock Kane Douglas and prop Taniela Tupou (Tongan Thor) are also in line to make their Queensland debuts after being named on the bench.
The side also features four returning Wallabies from the recent three-Test series against England, with James Slipper, Greg Holmes, Nick Frisby and Samu Kerevi all named in the starting side.
The injury to lock Rob Simmons in last weekend’s Test has presented an opportunity for recent Australian Under 20s representative Lukhan Tui to make his run-on debut for the Reds.
The Brumbies will be without David Pocock for this match and have named Ben Hyne to make his Super Rugby debut. Hyne has been named at No.8 for Friday night’s match, joining Butler (7) and Scott Fardy (6) in the back row. He will become Brumby #185.
The Brumbies team also also features Matt Toomua and Andrew Smith who return from injury. Toomua made a successful return from a knee injury last week for the Wallabies and had a hand in two tries for the home side.
Smith returns to the bench for the first time since round two after recovering from a serious foot injury. Smith has played two matches for the Queanbeyan Whites in the John I Dent Cup to return to match fitness.
In another first for the Brumbies, young scrumhalf Joe Powell has been named to make his first Super Rugby start.
Powell was a bolter for the Wallabies recent training squad for the Test series against England after playing in eight Super Rugby matches over the past two seasons, all of which have been as a reserve.
Tomás Cubelli has been named as reserve scrumhalf after returning to Canberra from Argentina yesterday following Los Pumas test series with France.
Both sides have chosen to start some new caps but there is almost the feeling that the Reds selections are looking more towards next season as they are already out of contention for the title this year.
This Match will be shown on TV in NZ (Sky), Aus (Fox Sports), SA (SuperSport) and in the UK on Sky Sports 1.
Average score: Brumbies 28 Reds 15
Last five results
14 Mar 2015 Brumbies v Reds 29-0 Brisbane
13 Feb 2015 Brumbies v Reds 47-3 Canberra
11 Apr 2014 Brumbies v Reds 23-20 Brisbane
22 Feb 2014 Brumbies v Reds 17-27 Canberra
20 Apr 2013 Brumbies v Reds 19-19 Brisbane
Brumbies overall record against the Reds
Played 26 , Wins 20, Losses 5 , Draws 1
Match No.110: Brumbies vs Reds
Date : Friday 1 July 2016
Venue : GIO Stadium, Canberra
Kick Off local: 19.40
Referee: Andrew Lees (Australia)
Assistant Ref 1:Rohan Hoffmann (Australia),
Assistant Ref 2:Will Houston (Australia)
TMO : George Ayoub (Australia)
Teams
Brumbies
1. Scott Sio,2. Stephen Moore (c),3. Ben Alexander,4. Rory Arnold,5. Sam Carter,6. Scott Fardy,7. Jarrad Butler,8. Ben Hyne* (Super Rugby debut),9. Joe Powell,10. Christian Lealiifano (c),11. James Dargaville,12. Matt Toomua,13. Tevita Kuridrani,14. Nigel Ah Wong,15. Aidan Toua
Replacements : 16. Josh Mann-Rea,17. Allan Alaalatoa,18. Ruan Smith,19. Blake Enever,20. Michael Wells,21. Tomas Cubelli,22. Andrew Smith,23. Lausii Taliauli
Queensland Reds
1. James Slipper (C) , 2. Andrew Ready , 3. Greg Holmes , 4. Cadeyrn Neville , 5. Lukhan Tui (run-on debut) , 6. Hendrik Tui , 7. Liam Gill , 8. Curtis Browning , 9. Nick Frisby , 10. Jake McIntyre , 11. Eto Nabuli , 12. Henry Taefu , 13. Samu Kerevi , 14. Chris Kuridrani , 15. Jack Tuttle (Queensland/Super Rugby debut)
Replacements : 16. Saia Fainga’a , 17. Sef Fa’agase , 18. Taniela Tupou (potential Queensland/Super Rugby debut) , 19. Kane Douglas (potential Queensland debut) , 20. Leroy Houston , 21. James Tuttle , 22. Duncan Paia’aua , 23. Campbell Magnay
