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Brumby Allan Alaalatoa to end more than 260 day wait against Hurricanes
Wallabies prop Allan Alaalatoa will make his long-awaited return from injury on Saturday afternoon after being named to start for the Brumbies against the table-topping Hurricanes.
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Alaalatoa, who missed the Rugby World Cup after suffering the injury during the first Bledisloe Cup test in Melbourne, will return to competitive rugby for the first time in more than 260 days.
The world-class tighthead prop will pack down alongside James Slipper and hooker Billy Pollard in an impressive front row, while Darcy Swain and Cadeyrn Neville round out the tight five.
Rory Scott has been named at openside flanker for the first time this season and joins Wallaby Rob Valetini and rising star Charlie Cale in the loose forwards.
Head-to-Head
Last 5 Meetings
Wins
4
Draws
0
Wins
1
Average Points scored
34
27
First try wins
20%
Home team wins
100%
Captain Ryan Lonergan is back at halfback for the second week in a row and will combine with Noah Lolesio in the halves. Lolesio has played in every match this season.
Len Ikitau returns from an injury layoff to start at outside centre, with the Wallaby set to link up with Tamati Tua in the midfield.
Speedster Corey Toole will take his place on the left wing once again, New Zealand-born Ollie Sapsford on the right, and Wallaby Tom Wright lines up out the back.
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Coach Stephen Larkham has gone with a 5-3 split on the bench.
The Hurricanes are undefeated this season but their last loss in a competitive fixture was against the Brumbies in Canberra (last year’s quarter-finals).
As for the Brumbies, they’ll be looking to put the disappointment of last year’s thrashing by the Blues behind them when they take the field in front of their home fans.
This ANZAC Round fixture at Canberra’s GIO Stadium will kick-off at 2:35 pm AEST on Saturday afternoon.
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Brumbies team to take on Hurricanes
- James Slipper
- Billy Pollard
- Allan Alaalatoa
- Darcy Swain
- Cadeyrn Neville
- Rob Valetini
- Rory Scott
- Charlie Cale
- Ryan Lonergan
- Noah Lolesio
- Corey Toole
- Tamati Tua
- Len Ikitau
- Ollie Sapsford
- Tom Wright
Replacements
- Connal McInerney
- Blake Schoupp
- Sosefo Kautai
- Tom Hooper
- Jahrome Brown
- Harrison Goddard
- Jack Debreczeni
- Andy Muirhead
Comments on RugbyPass
The Harlequins team must be in minus figures. Did the reporter actually watch the game?
2 Go to commentsHow on earth did Walker escape a red card? Not dangerous? Dupont has his face in a mask earlier this season. Shocking decision. What is the point of TMOs? We had the Fassi ‘non-penalty try’ yesterday and now this.
2 Go to commentsCould have been a different result but yet again French tv able to affect the result by not showing the very clear high shot on harlequin centre if this would have been on a French player would have been on screen at least five times
2 Go to commentsAmazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
2 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
2 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
2 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
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