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Cape Town - Reds head coach Nick Stiles has made two changes to his starting line-up to take on the Brumbies in their Australian derby in Canberra on Saturday.
Kick-off is at 11:45 SA time.
In the forwards, the return of prop Sef Fa’agase from a calf injury has prompted a shuffle in the front row. Fa’agase will start at loosehead prop, with Sam Talakai returning to his regular position of tighthead and Taniela Tupou shifted to the reserves.
The only other change to the starting side from last week’s match against the Hurricanes in Brisbane sees Lachlan Maranta named to make his run-on debut at full-back, in place of Karmichael Hunt who has been ruled out with concussion.
Stiles has also made significant changes to his bench, with hooker Alex Mafi and scrumhalf Moses Sorovi in line to make their Queensland and Super Rugby debuts in place of Andrew Ready and Nick Frisby, who have been left out of the matchday 23 and will play Queensland Premier Rugby this weekend.
Lock Izack Rodda has also been named on the bench in place of Lukhan Tui, after recovering from an ankle injury suffered in the game against the Jaguares.
"I flagged at the end of last week’s game there was a need for change and you can see that in the team we’ve selected to play the Brumbies. We’re really happy with the depth we have in the squad at the moment and the competitiveness it is driving within the group for spots," said Stiles.
"It takes 23 players over 80 minutes to win a game of Rugby and we believe this is the team to get us an outcome this weekend. The players who have been named have been rewarded for their efforts on the training paddock and the field.
"There’s obviously some notable omissions in Nick and Andrew. I had a good chat with them early in the week about their performances in recent weeks and about the expectations of the team as a whole. They’re aware of why they’ve been left out of the team this week and I’m looking forward to seeing how they respond at club level this weekend."
Teams:
Brumbies
TBA
Reds
15 Lachlan Maranta, 14 Chris Kuridrani, 13 Samu Kerevi, 12 Duncan Paia’aua, 11 Eto Nabuli, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 James Tuttle, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 George Smith, 6 Adam Korczyk, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Stephen Moore (captain), 1 Sef Fa’agase
Substitutes: 16 Alex Mafi, 17 Kirwan Sanday, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Izack Rodda, 20 Hendrik Tui, 21 Moses Sorovi, 22 Hamish Stewart, 23 Izaia Perese
