Melbourne - The Rebels have welcomed back experience for their game
against the Hurricanes at Westpac Stadium on Saturday.
Rebels head coach Tony McGahan has made three changes to the
team with Marika Koroibete set for his Super Rugby debut, along with the return
of James Hanson and Mitch Inman to the starting lineup.
Koroibete will make his first appearance in Rebels colours
on the wing after a knee injury sidelined the Rugby League convert for the
club’s pre-season trial matches, Brisbane Global Rugby Tens and opening round.
Wallaby Hanson returns to action after he missed the first
game of the season against the Blues with a hip and leg injury, respectively,
while Inman will partner Reece Hodge in the centres.
Nic Stirzaker will line up against the Hurricanes at scrumhalf
after the captain overcame a head knock against the Blues which saw him
substituted early in the first half.
The Rebels went down in their opening game of the season
56-18 to the Blues while the Hurricanes scored 13 tries against the Sunwolves
to claim an 83-17 victory in Tokyo.
This weekend’s fixture will only be the third time that the
Rebels have played against the Hurricanes in Wellington after Round 14, 2012
and Round 7, 2015.
The Rebels claimed the victory in the first meeting between the two sides before the Hurricanes bounced back to win the last four consecutive matches to lead the head to head record 4-1 from five matches.
Teams
Hurricanes
15 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 14 Vince Aso, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Reed Prinsep, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Michael Fatialofa, 4 James Blackwell, 3 Jeffery To'omaga-Allen, 2 Dane Coles (captain), 1 Chris Eves
Substitutes: 16 Ricky Riccitelli, 17 Ben May, 18 Mike Kainga, 19 Mark Abbott, 20 Callum Gibbins, 21 Chris Smylie, 22 Otere Black, 23 Jordie Barrett
Rebels
15 Jack Debreczeni 14 Marika Koroibete, 13 Mitch Inman, 12 Reece Hodge, 11 Tom English, 10 Jackson Garden-Bachop, 9 Nic Stirzaker (captain), 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Colby Fainga’a, 6 Jordy Reid, 5 Lopeti Timani, 4 Steve Cummins, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 James Hanson, 1 Cruze Ah-Nau
Substitutes: 16 Pat Leafa, 17 Tom Moloney, 18 Tyrel Lomax, 19 Culum Retallick, 20 Jake Schatz, 21 Ben Meehan, 22 Sione Tuipulotu, 23 Ben Volavola