The Wallabies have been handed a big boost after fly-half Noah Lolesio recovered from a worrying injury to take his place in the Brumbies team to face the Crusaders.
It was only 18 days ago that the fly-half was stretchered off with concerns that he had suffered a fractured spine in a frightening incident against the Western Force.
Thankfully, Lolesio was cleared of any serious injury, but his return is perhaps quicker than expected after the playmaker was named in the Brumbies XV for Friday’s huge clash.
“Noah responded extremely positively to treatment. He got through his rehab and trained really well the back end of last week. He’s confident heading into this weekend and it’s great to have him back in the side,” head coach Stephen Larkham said.
Lolesio v O’Connor
Despite Lolesio’s impending move to Japan, the 25-year-old is still seen as a leading contender for the Wallabies 10 jersey for the upcoming British and Irish Lions series.
He could well face-off with another Australian hopeful in the form of James O’Connor, who is among the Crusaders’ replacements for this weekend’s encounter.
The Brumbies currently reside in third position, two points behind the Christchurch outfit, but know that a victory will give them a top-two seeding going into the knockout stages.
“We know the importance of finishing in the top two and securing that home semi-final, it puts you in a better position to go deep into the competition. However, we know there is still a lot of work to do before then,” Larkham said.
“The Crusaders have improved on their consistency from last year. They’ve had a few changes in terms of guys coming back from injury and performing. We’ll see a settled team and they’ll be trying to prepare a team that will see them all the way through the finals.”
As for the rest of the Brumbies team, Ryan Lonergan lines up alongside Lolesio at half-back with David Feliuai and Len Ikitau the centre partnership.
Corey Toole, Andy Muirhead and Tom Wright are once again in the back three and duly complete the backline.
Up front, Rob Valetini will look to produce another statement display ahead of the Lions tour and he is joined in the back-row by Rory Scott and Tuaina Taii Tualima.
Nick Frost and Tom Hooper are in the engine room while James Slipper, Billy Pollard and Feao Fotuaika are the front-row trio.
On the bench, the Canberra outfit have gone for a traditional 5-3 split with Lachlan Lonergan, Lington Ieli, Rhys van Nek, Lachlan Shaw and Luke Reimer the forward replacements, with Harrison Goddard, Declan Meredith and Ollie Sapsford covering the backs.
The team
Brumbies: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Andy Muirhead, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 David Feliuai, 11 Corey Toole, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Ryan Lonergan, 8 Tuaina Taii Tualima, 7 Rory Scott, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Tom Hooper, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Feao Fotuaika, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 James Slipper
Replacements: 16 Lachlan Lonergan, 17 Lington Ieli, 18 Rhys van Nek, 19 Lachlan Shaw, 20 Luke Reimer, 21 Harrison Goddard, 22 Declan Meredith, 23 Ollie Sapsford
Date: Friday, May 30
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Kick-off: 19:35 local (10:35 BST, 09:35 GMT)
Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Angus Mabey (New Zealand), Fraser Hannon (New Zealand)
TMO: Richard Kelly (New Zealand)
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