Wallaby power for Brumbies
The Brumbies team named to take on an ACT XV on Saturday includes no less than 10 Wallabies as well as Japanese international Harumichi Tatekawa who will feature on the wing.
An all-Wallaby front of Scott Sio, Stephen Moore and Ben Alexander will start, backed up by Kiwi combo Jack Whetton and Leon Power at lock.
The back row of Scott Fardy, David Pocock and Ben Mowen is also All-Wallaby, as is the halfback combination of Nic White and Matt Toomua.
A new look centre pairing of Andrew Smith (inside) and Henry Speight (outside) are set to excite fans, while the back three will be made up of Joe Tomane, Tatekawa (wings) and Jesse Mogg at fullback.
The squad has also included a 12-man bench which features Tuggeranong Vikings flyhalf Rodney Iona, 26-time Wallaby Clyde Rathbone and wrecking ball Fotu Auelua.
Ruaidhri Murphy will make his first appearance for the Brumbies since injuring his knee mid-2013, while a host of other potential regulars will come on during the four-quarter hit-out.
Head Coach Stephen Larkham said the game was a good chance for the Brumbies to set their combinations ahead of the season opener.
"Henry [Speight] will probably get a chance at outside centre in the second half, in the first half we think he'll play on the wing," Larkham said.
"With the Wallabies coming back we've got an extra nine players coming back into the team from last week so we are starting to find the team that will play in round one against the Reds.
"Trials are about getting that match fitness in before the start of the season. We've eased a lot of those guys back into contact over the last few weeks and they seem to be responding well there."
Brumbies: 15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Joe Tomane, 13 Henry Speight, 12 Andrew Smith, 11 Harumichi Tatekawa, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Nic White, 8 Ben Mowen (captain), 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Jack Whetton, 4 Leon Power, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Ruan Smith, 17 Siliva Siliva, 18 Ruaidhri Murphy, 19 Lachlan Murphy, 20 Fotu Auelua, 21 Jordan Smiler, 22 Jarrad Butler, 23 Michael Dowsett, 24 Lionel Cronje, 25 Rodney Iona, 26 Clyde Rathbone, 27 Stephan Van Der Walt, 28 Robbie Coleman.
Date: Saturday, February 8
Venue: Viking Park, Wanniassa
Kick-off: 18.50 (08.50 GMT)
Referee: James Leckie
Assistant referees: Scott Izod, Brad Dale
