Brumbies Team announced to face Hurricanes
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Full-back Julian Huxley will return from a hamstring injury to take up his place at the back of the Brumbies’ back-line for their final round Super 14 hit-out against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Friday.
Huxley has been sidelined for the past two matches after sustaining a hamstring strain in the Brumbies’ Round Eleven clash with the Waratahs. The 30-year-old’s return sees Adam Ashley-Cooper move to the left wing with Andrew Smith dropping back to the bench.
The Canberra-based outfit’s forward pack remains unchanged.
The Brumbies will be chasing their first win at AMI Stadium since their 17-12 victory in 2000. It was the second time they had tasted success in Christchurch with the first coming in 1996 with a favourable 29-7 result.
Brumbies coach Andy Friend says past records are of little interest to his side.
“This is a big game for both sides and is effectively a quarter-final with the loser finishing up for 2010,” he said.
“In terms of challenges, they don’t come much bigger than tackling the Crusaders in Christchurch but it’s the job we have to get done if we’re going to stay in this competition.
“Our performances have been building over the past few matches and we’ve put ourselves in a good position for the weekend.
“We were strong against the Reds and continued that against an in-form Highlanders side last week, and now we need to find the next gear in Christchurch.
“We’ll also bring Julian back which is a real positive for the side. Adam’s been very impressive for us at full-back this season but in terms of the overall balance of the backline, it was believed this was our best option.
“Julian brings a great deal of experience to side and has a excellent kicking game which could be of benefit in what’s forecast to be wet conditions on Friday night.”
Brumbies: 15 Julian Huxley, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Tyrone Smith, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Josh Valentine, 8 Stephen Hoiles (c), 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Mitchell Chapman, 3 Salesi Maafu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Ben Alexander.
Replacements: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Ben Hand, 19 Colby Faingaa, 20 Patrick Phibbs, 21 Brackin Karauria-Henry, 22 Andrew Smith.
Date: Friday, May 14
Venue: AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Kick-off: 19:35 (17:35 AEST; 07:35 GMT)
Referee: Bryce Lawrence
Assistant referees: Josh Noonan, Kane McBride
TMO: Ben Skeen
[Info from Planet Rugby]
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