Christian Lealiifano will make his much-anticipated return for the ACT Brumbies this weekend in their must-win quarter-final against the Hurricanes in Canberra.
Lealiifiano has not played a Super Rugby game since being diagnosed with leukaemia ten months ago. He played for the Brumbies in Singapore last month, and will complete his comeback to professional rugby on Friday after being named on the bench for the clash against the Hurricanes.
Lealiifano was poised to make his return two weeks ago, only for hamstring tightness to postpone his comeback.
The rest of the side is similar to the one which played the Reds two weeks ago, after coach Stephen Larkham named an inexperienced and experimental side in the final round of the season last weekend.
Wallabies Scott Sio, Allan Alaalatoa, Rory Arnold and skipper Sam Carter have been named in the forwards alongside hooker Josh Mann-Rea and the back-row trio of Scott Fardy, Chris Alcock and Jordan Smiler.
In the backs, injuries to inside centre Kyle Godwin and winger Aidan Toua have paved the way for starting berths for James Dargaville and Andrew Smith. Smith will be partnered in the centres by Tevita Kuridrani, whose Wallabies teammate Henry Speight will be on the wing opposite Dargaville.
Youngster Joe Powell has been named at scrumhalf with Wharenui Hawera at five-eighth and Tom Banks at fullback.
1. Scott Sio
2. Josh Mann-Rea
3. Allan Alaalatoa
4. Rory Arnold
5. Sam Carter (C)
6. Scott Fardy
7. Chris Alcock
8. Jordan Smiler
9. Joe Powell
10. Wharenui Hawera
11. James Dargaville
12. Andrew Smith
13. Tevita Kuridrani
14. Henry Speight
15. Tom Banks
Reserves
16. Robbie Abel
17. Ben Alexander
18. Leslie Leulua’iali’i-Makin
19. Blake Enever
20. Jarrad Butler
21. Tomas Cubelli
22. Jordan Jackson-Hope
23. Christian Lealiifano
The Brumbies final against the Hurricanes will kick off at 7:35pm (AEST), and you can follow all of the action right here on The Roar with live scores, commentary and highlights.
Jez
Guest
Riddler, to be fair to the Reds they are still suffering from their previous coach. Stiles has had a year to get them going now, they looked better in the second half of he season. If they are as bad next year as they were this year I will be surprised. I am one of those people who thinks Australian rugby has more of a coaching problem than a player problem. Also I didn't mean it as an attack on the Reds or the Tahs I just think Hawera cops a lot of crap but generally turns out a decent game. He is no Dan Carter or Beauden Barrett but he is performing as well as any Australian 10.
Riddler
Guest
Good luck fionn. One of the few times we will be cheering on the same team and people united me thinks.. ;)
Riddler
Guest
I put mogg into the Mike Harris category. . In all fairness probably just missing that last little bit to be a justifiable test standard but very underrated at super level and great guys to have in the state teams..
Riddler
Guest
Jez. . Fair call.. My reds roster looked a heck of a lot better on paper than yours that is for sure.. Amazing what over inflated egos of players and coaches can do..
Riddler
Guest
Great news for the lad. . Best of luck to the brumbies and their fans this weekend.. This weekend we are all brumbie fans.
Jez
Guest
Actually, I kind of think that in all fairness if it was a round robin format, every team once, the Brumbies would still be there. Most likely in 8th spot. The Sharks did score 8 more points and win 3 more games but I would certainly have preferred their draw over ours where not one NZ team had a go at them. I can't help but think the Brumbies would have won 3 or 4 more games and the Sharks would have lost 5 more leaving them on 4 wins and the Brumbies on 9/10 if they swapped draws. The Blues deserve to be there true, but at the expense of the Sharks not the Brumbies.
ajg
Guest
Great to CLL back. really hoping he has a great game. But the brutal truth is that the brumbies shouldnt be there at all. Its embarrassing for the comp that they sit 4th on the table when they finished 9th overall. the organisers have really got to sort it out
Markus
Guest
Brumbies lost Nic White, Matt Toomua, Joe Tomane, Jesse Mogg and Robbie Coleman in the last 2 seasons plus had Cubelli and Lealiifano unavailable all year, and it definitely shows in the backs this season. Add to that the loss of Moore, Vaea and Pocock in the forwards and they have actually done much better this season than I initially expected. Hoping the forwards can really lift and the backs minimise their mistakes and they can pull out a win on Friday.
Machooka
Roar Guru
Agree Fionn and in a sea of Aussie SR dross this is something to celebrate... win or lose the game :)
Jez
Guest
True, Hawera would not be running on for any of the NZ teams but just quietly he has done a pretty good job holding the fort for the Brumbies since CLL went out with lukemia and Toomua went overseas leaving the team without its first two choices for the season. I don't see Quade Coopers Reds or Bernard Foley's Waratahs in the finals even after many many people wrote the Brumbies off and commented on how good the Reds and Tahs would be pre season. It will be great to see CLL have a run on Friday, I can't wait to see him play, win or lose. The Brumbies will be a stronger side next year with both CLL and Hawera fit.
Fionn
Guest
Incredible news. I've said it on another thread, but this is heartwarming news that will bring me - and many other rugby fans - joy whether we win or lose. Best of luck, Christian.
Bluesfan
Guest
The Brumbies should edge the front 5 battle and after that who knows! However when you look at the respective strength of the Back-lines then it could get nasty especially at Half Back/1st Five - which to my eyes is a gapping weakness for the Brumbies. Lets face it Wharenui Hawera could not get a slot at 5 of the NZ Super teams, which probably indicates the level of his effectiveness.