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Injury setback for Brumbies

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:01

Brumbies outside centre Stirling Mortlock has been ruled out of his team's Super 14 Week Six match against the Blues at Auckland’s Eden Park on Friday.

The Wallaby midfielder suffered a neck and shoulder injury during the Brumbies’ 24-22 win over the Sharks last weekend and while scans cleared him of any serious damage, he will sit out the clash as a precautionary measure.

Mortlock’s place at outside centre will be taken by Tyrone Smith, who has been a regular run-on centre for the Brumbies over the past three years despite starting each match off the bench in 2010. Smith has been a dynamic replacement for the Brumbies this season and will pair up with the in-form Christian Lealiifano at centre.

Smith’s place as reserve will be taken by Andrew Smith, who will join Jerry Yanuyanutawa as first-timers on the replacements.

Andrew Smith has been one of the standout players for the Brumby Runners this year, including a two-try performance in the side’s 36-16 win over the Junior Waratahs last weekend. Yanuyanutawa, who started at loosehead prop against the New South Wales side on Sunday, earns his place in the 22-man squad after graduating from the 2009 Brumbies Academy.

The rookie pair will start on the bench alongside scrumhalf Patrick Phibbs, who did not take to the field against the Sharks and is again in line for his 50th Super 14 cap on Friday.

The remainder of the starting XV is unchanged with Mark Chisholm’s selection allowing him to become the most capped Brumbies lock in his 81st match, surpassing David Giffen’s 80 matches for the franchise between 1996 and 2004. Chisholm made his debut for the Brumbies in 2003 against the Cats in Johannesburg, with his career featuring a 2004 Super 12 championship, 16 tries and 48 Tests for Australia.

The Brumbies last venture to Auckland in 2008 was a milestone match with the ACT side recording its first win (16-11) at Eden Park since 2001.

Brumbies head coach Andy Friend says he’s looking for his side to repeat the result and record their fifth win of the season.

"I’m very comfortable with where we are at the moment," he said. "If someone had offered me four wins from five at the beginning of the season with the South African leg completed then I would have taken that.

"The challenge for us is that we continue to build throughout the season. At this stage, we’re creating opportunities to put sides away but we’re not finishing them off. The pleasing aspect is that our performances are improving each week, combinations are looking stronger and the team statistics show that we are getting closer to where we want to be with each match.

"While we do have plenty of improvement left in us and we’ll need to start realising more of that against some quality Kiwi sides in the next few weeks.

"The Blues are one of the danger sides in this competition. They’re typical of all New Zealand teams in that they’ll attack you from anywhere on the field, they’ll chance their hand and back themselves at every opportunity. We’ll need to ensure our defensive systems are in check and that we are taking the opportunities we create if we’re going to return with the points."

Brumbies: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Tyrone Smith, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Francis Fainifo, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Josh Valentine, 8 Stephen Hoiles, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Ben Hand, 3 Salesi Maafu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Ben Alexander.
Replacements: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Justin Harrison, 19 Mitchell Chapman, 20 Patrick Phibbs, 21 Matt Toomua, 22 Andrew Smith.
 
Date: Friday, March 19
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Kick-off: 19.35 (06.35 GMT)
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Garratt Williamson (New Zealand), Matthew Stanish (New Zealand)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

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