Mortlock to miss Brumbies clash with Blues
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Stirling Mortlock
CA Brumbies outside centre Stirling Mortlock has been ruled out of his side’s Super 14 Round 6 match against the Blues at Auckland’s Eden Park on Friday .
The Wallaby midfielder suffered a neck/shoulder injury during the 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 CA Brumbies over the past three years despite starting each match off the bench in 2010. Smith has been a dynamic replacement for the CA Brumbies this season and will pair up with the in-form Christian Lealiifano in the centres.
The rookie pair of Andrew Smith and Jerry Yanuyanutawa 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 CA Brumbies’ lock in his 81st match, surpassing David Giffen’s 80 matches for the province between 1996 and 2004. Chisholm made his debut for the CA 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 CA 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.
CA 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 out 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.”
Team vs Blues
19 Mar 10
08:35
Eden Park
Auckland, New Zealand
1 Ben Alexander
2 Stephen Moore
3 Salesi Ma’afu
4 Ben Hand
5 Mark Chisholm
6 Rocky Elsom
7 George Smith
8 Stephen Hoiles
9 Josh Valentine
10 Matt Giteau
11 Francis Fainifo
12 Christian Lealiifano
13 Tyrone Smith
14 Pat McCabe
15 Adam Ashley-Cooper
16 Huia Edmonds
17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa
18 Justin Harrison
19 Mitchell Chapman
20 Patrick Phibbs
21 Matt Toomua
22 Andrew Smith
•Captain – Stephen Hoiles
•Mortlock out injured – replaced by Tyrone Smith
•Yanuyanutawa and Smith new inclusions on the bench
[Info from SARugby.com]
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