Brumbies need 'little details' to topple Lions

Cape Town - Going back just a few years, the Lions would never enter a Super Rugby clash against the Brumbies in Canberra as favourites. 

But times have changed, and on Friday they will be expected to continue their winning ways against a struggling Brumbies outfit. 

The Brumbies, remarkably, are top of the Australian Conference with just three wins from nine. 

They have lost their last three matches in the competition, but they are quietly confident that they can topple the Johannesburgers to get their campaign back on track following a bye week last week. 

For captain Sam Carter, the Brumbies would have to be incredibly accurate to pull off the win. 

"Everyone is very keen and very optimistic about trying to win but it’s the little detail that we have to get right and it’s good that we’ve had two weeks to work on that," he told the Brumbies website. 

"We’re fresh, we’re really positive this week. We’ve trained with a lot of intensity and we are looking forward to tomorrow night."

Carter added that the Lions set piece was one of their major strengths. 

"Their scrum is really good, their line-out is very good and across the park they run all day so if we need to control the ball and make sure we execute what we’re doing," he said.

"I’ve had a fair look at the Lions, and we’re ready for them." 

Kick-off on Friday is at 11:45.

Teams:

Brumbies

15 Aidan Toua, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 James Dargaville, 10 Wharenui Hawera, 9 Joe Powell, 8 Jordan Smiler, 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Sam Carter (captain), 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Josh Mann-Rea, 1 Ben Alexander

Substitutes: 16 Robbie Abel, 17 Nic Mayhew, 18 Leslie Leulua’iali’i-Makin, 19 Blake Enever, 20 Ben Hyne, 21 De Wet Roos, 22 Jordan Jackson-Hope, 23 Tom Banks

Lions

15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Ruan Ackermann, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Johannes Jonker, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Corne Fourie

Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Robert Kruger/Cyle Brink, 21 Dillon Smit, 22 Jacques Nel, 23 Anthony Volmink