The Rebels have named Kurtley Beale at fly-half and James O'Connor at full-back for their final trial match against the Hurricanes at Simonds Stadium.
In a much anticipated return, Beale will start for the Rebels in what is poised to be the biggest year in the history of rugby union in Victoria.
Head coach Damien Hill was upbeat about Beale's return, but saw the importance of other selections as a vital part of this week's trial.
"Kurtley just wants to play. He was very keen to do so in Tasmania, and he has done extremely well to put himself in the best physical condition for his teammates for this 2013 season," he said.
"There are so are many positions on the line we will need to assess before we announce the run on side for the Western Force match in February.
"There are very few positions that are currently locked away. Many players who weren't seen as starters in 2012 are very close with the offseason they have had and the form they showed against the Waratahs last week.
"There has been very honest feedback over the last week, the players need to build on their performance against the Waratahs." said Hill.
Second-row is one area in particular where the Rebels are rich in talent, with Luke Jones' trial form, the professional development of Cadeyrn Neville and Hugh Pyle, and the experience of both Chris Thomson and James King, who has returned from injury in the best shape of his career.
"Luke has done well to force himself in the starting team for this trial. He will partner Hugh and Cadeyrn, but that is a combination the coaching team are continually monitoring," Hill continued.
"Then add James King and Chris, it is a very tough decision to make, which is why this trial is such an important one for the Club."
Back-row is another selection dilemma for the Rebels' coach, with Scott Higginbotham still unavailable due to injury.
The club's marquee recruit has still not fully recovered from a shoulder injury he sustained in Cardiff in the Wallabies epic victory on their end-of-year tour.
"Scott is not there yet, although he is close. Backrow is another area where we will have to make some tough decisions, we won't know how that dynamic will look until the end of the match. It is difficult to single players out, as all have done everything right to be selected for this Club," said Hill.
Rebels: 15 James O'Connor, 14 Alex Rokobaro, 13 Mitch Inman, 12 Rory Sidey, 11 Lachlan Mitchell, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Gareth Delve, 7 Scott Fuglistaller, 6 Luke Jones, 5 Cadeyrn Neville, 4 Hugh Pyle, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Ged Robisnon, 1 Nic Henderson.
Replacements: 16 Shota Horie/Pat Leafa, 17 Eddie Aholelei/Paul Alo-Emile, 18 James King/Chris Thomson, 19 Tim Davidson/Trent Dyer/Jordy Reid/Jarrod Saffy, 20 Richard Kingi/Nic Stirzaker, 21 Angus Roberts/Tom English, 22 Kemu Valetini.
Comments
isthatrightref says...
@ new_j4a... played 60mins of a trial game v Blues last week with the usual mixed results: created a couple of tries but got run over & ball-stripped to concede 2.
Fights tonight on the SBW-Botha undercard then due to turn out in Reds final trial next week assuming he comes thru the fight OK.
Posted 21:47 07th February 2013
shrimps says...
hmmmm, i like oconnor at 10 with beale at 15. oconnor plays the ball much closer to the opposition line, it is much harder too defend. i think he is one of the hardest players to defend at from the 10 position because of his delayed passing.
Posted 11:27 07th February 2013
new_j4a says...
Anyone know what is happening with Quade Cooper? He seems to have dropped off the radar. Did he have that fight? Is he playing union?
Posted 11:16 07th February 2013