BRUMBIES
MATCH DAY PROGRAM 2020 SUPER RUGBY AU, ISSUE 3
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COACHES Q&A
Plus500 Brumbies Coach Dan McKellar gives us his thoughts ahead of tonight’s Waratahs grudge match at GIO Stadium.
BRUMBIES JOURNEY: NIC WHITE
Nic White makes his return to Brumbies colours tonight against the old enemy, for the first time since 2015. Read about his journey here.
MATCH PREVIEW
It’s a huge game in the context of the Super Rugby AU season. Touch up on all the implications in our match preview.
TEAMS: BRUMBIES V WARATAHS
Two sides filled with some of the best emerging talent in Australian Rugby. See Dan McKellar and Rob Penney's selections here.
BRUMBIES IN THE COMMUNITY
Rugby in the ACT & SNSW goes beyond the Brumbies. See what’s been happening in our community, here.
UPCOMING FIXTURES
As we move into the second half of the Super Rugby AU season, the action is coming thick and fast. Next up for the Plus500 Brumbies, a return meeting with the Western Force here at GIO Stadium. Plus500 BRUMBIES RUGBY Established: 1996
Editor: Rian Murphy | Head of Production: Chelsea Wilson | Contributors: Marty Cambridge | Photography: Getty Images, Lachlan Lawson, Jayzie Photography & Rian Murphy
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We were disappointed against the Rebels for sure. It was a big month for us leading into that game, and we were flat there’s no doubt. That performance was certainly uncharacteristic of our group, so we’ve worked extremely hard these last two weeks to put that right tonight against our oldest rivals, the Waratahs.
Yeah, starting up front it’s good to see Connal McInerney get an opportunity. He’s been excellent for us off the bench this season and with Folau having a slight calf niggle there, it’s good to get him some time to get that right before the backend of the year. Connal deserves that chance, as does Lachy Lonergan a good local product coming into the 23. Good to see Slips back there in the run-on side and we’ve gone for two experienced locks in there with Nev and Murray, two guys who will have to be good tonight with the pressure the ‘Tahs bring at lineout time.
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Obviously Lonners coming into the starting group is really exciting. He started the year brilliantly and Nic White on the bench, he’s a Brumby, the way he’s trained has been outstanding, so it’ll be good to see him back in Brumbies colours. And I suppose the other one would be Solomone Kata. In that 13 channel, bit closer to the football so looking for him to have plenty of touches.
We’ve got to defend well, that’s priority number one. They’ll test you, side to side so you have to always be aware. They’ve got a lot of talented young players who can spark if you don’t put them under pressure, so we have to let them feel some heat from us, put them under pressure for the full 80 minutes.
Absolutely. It’s a rivalry that’s gone on for many years now, something the club defined itself on in those early years. There’s been periods of dominance for both teams and we have a heap of respect for them. The players know each other, and there’s Wallaby jerseys up for grabs so it should be a redhot battle.
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It’s been just over five years since Nic a junior for Muswellbrook Heelers but White last pulled on a Brumbies jersey, when his family moved to Maitland, he but tonight he makes his long-awaited put on the famous Blacks jersey. return to GIO Stadium. Before making the grade at Super Rugby Between drinks at GIO, White has been level, White was a champion with the busy cultivating a rock-solid reputation, as Queanbeyan Whites in the John I Dent one of the premier halfbacks in the world. Cup, the halfback kicking a matchwinning penalty in the Grand-Final. Though he’s only 30, White is well travelled, having had stints at various clubs both as White was also a part of Eastwood’s an amateur and in the professional game. famous 2011 group which won the Shute Shield, while also representing Scone-born, White first picked up a ball as Australia at U20 level.
By the time he first ran out at GIO Stadium, White was more seasoned than your average rookie coming into Super Rugby.
The sniping instincts, the quality delivery and the ridiculous array of kicks was matched by leadership, intensity in defence and an eye for the big moment.
You could tell watching. In a new-look side, full of young talent, White emerged as a genuine Wallaby-bolter in 2012, and though he did have to wait a year, eventually White became a Wallaby in 2013.
White scored some sensational tries for the Chiefs, in Grand-Finals and at other big moments during their reign atop the Premiership.
White re-signed with Rugby Australia and the Brumbies early to play at the 2019 In the years proceeding, White was Rugby World Cup and will take his place in often unfortunate to not make more the side tonight against the ‘Tahs. appearances in Wallaby gold and in 2015, made the decision to move to Europe with Montpellier under Jake White, someone who showed faith in him at the Brumbies. After two seasons in France, White found a new home at Exeter and with the Chiefs, a seemingly brand-new player emerged.
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The Plus500 Brumbies will host the old enemy the Waratahs at GIO Stadium on Saturday night, with Dan McKellar’s men looking to hold onto top spot on the Super Rugby AU table. The Brumbies will also be hoping to make it six consecutive victories against the 'Tahs, having not lost to them since March 2018. Last time the two sides met saw a cracking fixture, which took some individual brilliance from young scum-half Issak Fines to seal the win for the Brumbies. Fines’ threw a superb dummy to fool the ‘Tahs defence late in the match and with Bayley Kuenzle converting, the Brumbies were able to sing the team song home on the Hume, having narrowly won 24-23. Despite having not lost since 2018 to their fierce rivals, the Brumbies will be wary of the ‘Tahs who have turned their fortunes around in recent weeks and will be eyeing revenge. The Waratahs thrashed the Queensland Reds 45-12 on the 8th of August and backed it up last week with a convincing 20-point victory against the Western Force. Their recent string of results has seen the visitors climb to third position on the ladder,
and a win at GIO Stadium would see Rob Penney’s side overtake the Brumbies on the table. The Brumbies will therefore be eager for another win against the ‘Tahs, and Dan McKellar will be hoping his side are nice and refreshed coming off a bye. The Brumbies will also be looking to make amends after disappointingly losing their first game of Super Rugby AU against the Rebels a fortnight ago. Expect an exciting game amongst the playmakers, as young flyhalf Will Harrison will be on display for the ‘Tahs, who is currently leading the competition in total points with 73. He will go head to head with Brumbies youngster Bayley Kuenzle, another exciting young playmaker with both players being key in deciding which side comes out on top. It should also be a great match up amongst the forwards, with a wealth of experienced Wallabies on show. This includes Michael Hooper, Rob Simmons, Allan Alaalatoa and James Slipper. Words: Daniel Heinrich
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STARTING XV 1 James Slipper 2 Connal McInerney 3 Allan Alaalatoa (C) 4 Murray Douglas 5 Caderyn Neville 6 Lachlan McCaffrey 7 Will Miller 8 Pete Samu 9 Ryan Lonergan 10 Bayley Kuenzle 11 Tom Wright 12 Irae Simone 13 Solomone Kata 14 Andy Muirhead 15 Tom Banks
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Match O REFEREE: Angus Gardener ASSISTANT REFEREE: Graham Cooper
Replacements
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Lachlan Lonergan Scott Sio Tom Ross Darcy Swain Rob Valetini Tom Cusack Nic White Len Ikitau
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STARTING XV
Officials: AR2: Reuben Keane TMO: Ian Smith
Replacements
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Robbie Abel Angus Bell Te Tera Faulkner Tom Staniforth Hugh Sinclair Mitch Short Ben Donaldson Lalakai Foketi
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Tom Robertson Tom Horton Harry Johnson-Holmes Ned Hanigan Rob Simmons (c) Lachie Swinton Michael Hooper Jack Dempsey Jake Gordon Will Harrison Alex Newsome Karmichael Hunt Joey Walton James Ramm Jack Maddocks
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M AT C H S TAT I S T I C S V
DID YOU KNOW?
The Brumbies didn’t lose at home to the Waratahs from 1996 – 2005.
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The John I Dent Cup has officially reached the halfway mark with the competition wide bye to take place this weekend, with the exception of the Gungahlin Eagles and Canberra Royals. The pair are set to face off in their rescheduled round five clash this weekend. There have been some big results over the last two round rounds, with the top four starting to take shape. In round four, the Uni-North Owls again flexed their muscles as they beat the Eagles 34-26 in wet conditions. The result gave the Owls their fourth straight win to start the season, with their defence and attack proving why they are one of the best in the competition. Byron Hollingworth and Jordan Thompson in the top brackets for tries and points respectively. The defending champions, Royals, picked up their first win of the season away to Queanbeyan, 23-7. The result at a wet Campese Field was also Ben Johnston’s 150th first grade match, with the premiership winning captain scoring in the milestone game.
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The result was the Blue Bagger’s first win in what had been a disappointing start to the season. A young Wests Lions outfit pulled off an upset, defeating the Tuggeranong Vikings 28-10 at home. Declan Meredith continued his incredible start to the season converting four from four tries, as the fullback leads the point-scorers in the comp. In round five, the Vikings hosted the Owls in a top of the table clash at Viking Park that went right down to the wire. With the two best defence and attacks facing off, it came down to a late penalty from Brumbies academy star Isaac Henry to seal the thrilling one-point win. Not even a red card could stop Wests from handing Queanbeyan their fourth loss of the season. Declan Meredith was the star once again with a try, three conversions and a penalty to his name, adding 20 points to his already impressive tally. Words: Declan Smith
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Headlining #TeamRehab this week is the return of Cadeyrn Neville after the towering lock’s stint on the sidelines with an ankle injury. Neville was instrumental in the Brumbies hot start to the 2020 pre-COVID, and though his absence has been filled by young-duo Darcy Swain and Nick Frost, Neville’s inclusion is a huge boost for the Brumbies alongside Murray Douglas. Also coming back into the side after a slight knock is star prop James Slipper, with Scotty Sio reverting to the bench. Another key inclusion comes in the form of livewire wing Tom Wright, who was not risked against the Rebels a fortnight ago. That gives Dan McKellar’s side a relatively clean bill of health with Noah Lolesio the only long-term absentee. Lolesio’s has been recovering well from the hamstring injury which saw him leave the field early against tonight’s opponent in round three.
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SPORTSWEAR SPECIALISTS CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION Office 1B, The Precinct, 539 Greenhill Road, Hazelwood Park, SA 5066 T: 08 8364 4920, E: abrophy@oneills.com
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