Reds change two for Highlanders

Reds coach Nick Stiles has made two changes to his starting side travelling to Dunedin to take on the Highlanders on Friday.

Caleb Timu will make his run-on debut at blindside flanker, after making his Super Rugby debut off the bench last weekend, while Rob Simmons returns to his regular role of starting lock, with Kane Douglas shifting to the bench.

Stiles has also named two potential debutants on the bench, with Australian U20 captain Reece Hewat in as a reserve flanker and Jayden Ngamanu as a reserve outside back. 

Stiles said: “The side showed a lot of growth to tough out a difficult win in the dying stages of the game against the Australian Conference leaders last weekend. 

“It was a great learning experience for the young players within the group, but now the challenge is there to back it up with another strong performance against a good New Zealand outfit this Friday.”

Reds: 15 Karmichael Hunt, 14 Izaia Perese, 13 Campbell Magnay, 12 Duncan Paia’aua, 11 Eto Nabuli, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 James Tuttle, 8 Adam Korczyk, 7 George Smith, 6 Caleb Timu, 5 Izack Rodda, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 Sef Fa’agase 
Replacements: 16 Alex Mafi, 17 Markus Vanzati, 18 Sam Talakai, 20 Reece Hewat, 21 Moses Sorovi, 22 Hamish Stewart, 23 Jayden Ngamanu

Date: Friday, July 14
Venue: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Kick-off: 19:35 local (07:35 GMT)
Referee: Mike Fraser
Assistant Referees: Jamie Nutbrown, James Doleman
TMO: Aaron Paterson