The Brumbies head up to Brisbane to take on the Reds, reigniting hostilities in the Australian Super Rugby conference after the June Test series. Join The Roar for live scores and blog updates from 7:45pm AEST.
Much of the pre-game speculation focused on Christian Lealiifano’s potential return to action after his battle with leukaemia.
Coach Stephen Larkham has resisted the urge to include him on the bench, instead favouring Nigel Ah Wong and Andrew Smith as his backline reserves.
Despite playing in ACT club rugby as well as an exhibition match for the Brumbies during the international break, Lealiifano remains short of match fitness.
The only change to the starting 15 sees Scott Sio back in the front row. Another long-term absentee, Argentina halfback Tomas Cubelli, returns via the bench after injuring his knee in pre-season.
For the home side, Rob Simmons plays his farewell home match at blindside flanker, covering for Hendrik Tui who returned from Japan duty worse for wear.
Scott Higginbotham also misses out through injury, replaced at 8 by Adam Korczyk.
Stephen Moore starts at hooker and captain for his 176th cap, taking him ahead of Keven Mealamu into outright second for all-time Super Rugby appearances (Wyatt Crockett leads with 183).
In the backs, Campbell Magnay deputises at 13 for Samu Kerevi, while Izaia Perese returns on the wing fresh from carving up the under-20s.
The last encounter between these sides served up a thumping 43-10 win for the Brumbies in Canberra.
The Brumbies are also carrying in some kind of form here, winning their last three, while the Reds have just one win from their last five (and that came against the lowly Rebels).
Prediction
The Reds have shown glimpses of cohesive rugby at times this season, but that’s clutching at straws.
The Brumbies, meanwhile, are now guaranteed to top the group and make the finals, so they’ll be on a mission to build momentum.
Before the international break got in the way, they were just hitting form.
Brumbies by 10.
Join The Roar for live scores and blog updates from 7:30pm AEST.
Gepetto
Guest
It was a great game; the stars played well and the new boys showed promise. Simmons again proved that he is one of few Australian locks who can play strongly for 80 minutes.
Republican
Guest
....I thought the Reds would get up for this one. The Ozzie sides are all very even truth be told which could be viewed as a positive from the spreading of Super entities across the country. That said, the Brumbies will be knocked out of the finals first up, once they face some real opposition in NZ or Saffa sides. On a positive note for ACT ra, ra, their Schools team just took out the national championship, defeating Qld 2 in the final.
Uncle Eric
Guest
Three knock-ons in the first seventy seconds set the tone and unfortunately the game didn't really improve from there. General skill levels were poor. It's one thing to say it was slippery (although not many lost their footing), but I lost count of the number of poor passes, either too high or straight at the receiver, to say nothing of those that simply weren't directed at anyone. Painful to watch all in all. Roll on the Lions ABs game.
There must always be a critic mate.
Jonesy
Guest
Perhaps you should have watched the game prior to commenting. A balanced blog, in light of the conditions and the match.
ThugbyFan
Guest
Yeah, for once my "Reds to win" tip came up Trumps. Whoot.
Simon
Guest
I was there. It was horrible rugby.
Charlie Lawry
Roar Guru
Definitely got a bit of spark about him. With Naivalu and Kerevi injured (for now at least), there's room for someone to step up.
Boosho
Roar Pro
Dead wrong!! A clever kicking game is what is needed. I hope Chek is watching this!
Drongo
Roar Rookie
Hey Charlie, no offence mate but your incessantly negative comments actually spoilt the blog for me. I kept checking to follow the game as I couldn't watch it. Give it a rest mate.
Jon
Roar Rookie
Congrats to the Reds for sneaking through in the end. They've had a tough year. A lot of people thought that the Brumbies and Reds's positions would have been reversed at this point, so to at least have their final home match being a win is something. I'd have rather the Brumbies won this and am disappointed, but overall more 'meh' about it. The weather and the growing injury toll lowered my expectations as the game went on. Once Butler had to go into the backline I could see the last minute victory for the Reds coming. Hoped they could have held on, but it wasn't to be. Regardless whether an Australian side turns up against another Australian side has been pretty meaningless in the last two seasons. What they are measured by is how they go against the NZ sides. Next week will be the telling game as to whether the Brumbies can be more than making up the numbers in the finals. To be honest, if this year is any indication my expectation is not high. But I still hope...
Robbo
Guest
Are you kidding Brumbies? How can you be leading the completion against another rubbish team like QLD. What has happened to running rugby? I am a supporter of the Brumbies since the beginning and have never seen such a discraceful performance. Very disappointed.
Charlie Lawry
Roar Guru
MATCH SUMMARY The Reds have snatched a late victory over the Brumbies, 16-15 the final score on a foggy Friday night in Brisbane. In a game marred by a startling lack of quality, the home crowd finally got some joy at the final whistle thanks to a Quade Cooper penalty. It's just the third win for the Reds over the Brumbies in the history of the competition. The slippery conditions played a big part in proceedings, with handling errors regularly disrupting momentum for both sides. The Brumbies dominated territory and possession early on but failed to capitalise. Each side traded penalties and the Reds took an unlikely 6-3 lead into half-time. In lieu of expansive play, the visitors relied on their rolling maul to gain ascendancy. Eventually the game was broken open by a penalty try for a collapsed maul which also saw George Smith sent to the sin bin. From there, it looked like a procession was on the cards for the Brumbies. Kyle Godwin pounced on a Quade Cooper error, spilling the ball in his own in-goal area. The lead was 6-15 at that stage. It was a battle of the boot for long stretches of the second half as each side looked to force the opponents into an error. The home side rallied, however, as passes began to stick. Karmichael Hunt grew into the game with some nice touches, Cooper also found confidence. But it was the young guns that came up with the big plays late in the piece. Firstly, Hamish Stewart latched onto an offload from Smith to grab Queensland's only try. Cooper curled the conversion expertly from out wide and the Brumbies looked rattled at 13-15. In the dying embers of the game, Hunt found touch deep in the Brumbies 22. Departing forward Rob Simmons shut down the ensuing maul to win possession. In the final minute, Izaia Perese, fresh from his impressive form at the U-20s Championships sliced through from a Cooper inside ball, brought down five metres out from the try line. The Brumbies were penalised for not rolling away at the ruck, which sparked a roar from the Suncorp crowd who spent the 80 minutes squinting through heavy fog. There may have been an element of luck in winning the penalty, but it was the enterprise of the Reds that earned it. Cooper nailed the goal from in front to prompt further celebrations. It's been a season to forget for the embattled Reds, but this ensured the home crowd went home happy. Entertained? Maybe not. But happy nonetheless. REDS 16 (Stewart try, Cooper 1 conv, 3 pen goals) BRUMBIES 15 (Godwin, penalty tries, Hawera 1 pen goal)
Wobbliesarewoeful
Guest
Hansen should be terrified... Chieka will be confident - because he's delusional
Train Without A Station
Guest
Appalling reffing that he let Carter drop to his knees and drag the maul down after being so willing to penalise the Reds prior to the penalty try.
Wally James
Roar Guru
Thanks for the call Charlie. Cheers
LifestyleSpecialist
Roar Rookie
In an otherwise dud year there have been some finds like Perese and Rodda. In those atrocious conditions I don't want to read to much into the quality of the game but another tight result in an Aussie derby and the crowd certainly sounded like they were into it at the end. Good on them for turning up in the first place! Would be an easy option to stay in and watch it with a couple of choice beverages.
Charlie Lawry
Roar Guru
Thanks for your company on the blog. Not one of the classics by any stretch. More handling errors than I could keep up with. Don't tell NZ. Let's just keep that one to ourselves shall we? Match summary up shortly.
hmmm
Guest
perese is now the form winger in aus super rugby. Should be in the wallabies camp pronto. The most promise of any young player I've seen for a while.
Charlie Lawry
Roar Guru
Well, that papered over the cracks a little. The Brumbies look like anything but finals contenders. They'll have to rally and find something to restore some kind of dignity to Australian rugby. Congratulations to the Reds, however. They stayed in it right until the death and got the win in the end. The crowd will go home happy. Entertained? Maybe not. But happy at least.