Gerrard back for Brumbies
Wallaby wing Mark Gerrard will make his return to the playing field when he starts for the Brumbies against the Hurricanes in a Super 14 warm-up match in Levin on Friday.
Wallaby wing Mark Gerrard will make his return to the playing field when he starts for the Brumbies against the Hurricanes in a Super 14 warm-up match in Levin on Friday.
Gerrard injured his knee playing for Australia against Japan in the opening round of pool matches in the World Cup in France last year.
The 25-year-old Gerrard, who has struggled with fitness and conditioning in the past, believes he has possibly had the best pre-season preparation of his career ahead of this year's Super 14.
The Brumbies back will finally get an opportunity to prove to the rugby fraternity that he still has both the pace and the skill to compete at Super 14 level and he will probably get to do that playing at fullback this Friday.
Although it isn't by any means a foregone conclusion, Julian Huxley is highly likely to start at pivot for the Brumbies ahead of rookie Chris Lealiifano while Adam Ashley-Cooper is sure to return to the wing for the Canberra-based franchise.
Australia's best player in 2007 George Smith and fellow loose forward Stephen Hoiles will bolster the Brumbies pack, while Nick Henderson, Alister Campbell and Guy Shepherdson – who all started against the Waratahs last week – make up the eight Wallabies that will play the Hurricanes this weekend.
Laurie Fisher's Wallabies are excited to be back in the fray.
“We're all looking forward to getting out and having a run,” Huxley said in a statement to the press on Tuesday.
“Everyone across the squad has trained extremely well through the pre-season and this is a great chance for us to get a good hit-out before taking on the Crusaders in Round One,” added the Wallaby utility back.
Huxley added that all the Wallabies that were involved in the failed World Cup campaign wanted to make amends by starting the Super 14 well against the Crusaders in Christchurch next week.
“It was a disappointing finish to the World Cup and I know all the guys involved in France are keen to hit the ground running with a good performance this weekend and start the competition well in a fortnight's time,” said Huxley.
Regular Brumbies Francis Fainifo and Gene Fairbanks, who didn't play against the Waratahs last week, will also have an opportunity to get some game-time for the Canberra-team this week.
All eyes will also be on new recruit Josh Holmes, who is set to make his debut for his new franchise at scrumhalf.
While the Brumbies were comprehensively beaten by the Waratahs last week, Fisher feels that a lot had been gained in the match; re-iterating that the result wasn't significant.
“We were pleased with certain aspects of the Waratahs trial that weren't necessarily reflected on the scoreboard,” he said.
“As was the case last week, the result is not a primary focus for us against the Hurricanes. Rather We're looking to develop structures that will help us tackle the Crusaders on Friday next week.
“We'll be boosted by the inclusion of several of our Wallaby players. It's always a luxury to be able to bring back players of that calibre into a side and it will enhance confidence, composure and depth within the squad,” added Fisher.
“In saying that, there were a number of strong performers against the Waratahs including our front row and a number of the younger guys like Christian [Lealiifano], Phibbsy [Patrick Phibbs], Sipa [Taumoepeau] and Tyrone [Smith], who we'll look for to continue their strong start to the season,” concluded Fisher.
Brumbies: Forwards: Nic Henderson, Guy Shepherdson, Salesi Ma'afu, John Ulugia, Huia Edmonds, Saia Faingaa, Peter Kimlin, Alister Campbell, Adam Wallace-Harrison, Richard Stanford, Mitch Chapman, Jone Tawake, George Smith, Stephen Hoiles
Backs: Patrick Phibbs, Josh Holmes, Christian Lealiifano, Julian Huxley, Francis Fainifo, Peter Playford, Afusipa Taumoepeau, Anthony Faingaa, Gene Fairbanks, Tyrone Smith, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Mark Gerrard
Date: Friday, 8 February
Venue: Levin Domain
Kick-off: 19.00 (06.00 GMT)
Referee: Kelvin Deaker
Touch judges: Brent Murray, local