Genia overcomes head knock to line up against injury-adjusted Waratahs

Melbourne Rebels halfback Will Genia has recovered from a head knock to face the Waratahs in their Super Rugby crunch match at AAMI Park on Friday night.

Genia was knocked out last round against the Sunwolves when he collected the stray boot of Sunwolves midfielder Phil Burleigh. He has since passed concussion protocol to take his place in the line-up for a massive clash with the Waratahs.

Meanwhile, Lalakai Foketi has replaced the injured Karmichael Hunt for the Waratahs. Scans have revealed Hunt will be sidelined for 12 weeks with a medial ligament tear suffered in the Waratahs’ Super Rugby loss to the Jaguares in Sydney last Saturday, which will rule him out of all of the Wallabies’ test matches in the lead up to the World Cup.

In the only other change from last Saturday’s team, Curtis Rona moves on to the wing with Cam Clark relegated to the bench.

The Rebels are looking to stay in touch with Super Rugby conference leaders, the Brumbies, with the finals looming, while the Waratahs’ season is on the line. When these teams met in Sydney earlier in the year, the Waratahs managed a 3-point win.

Rebels: Dane Haylett-Petty (c), Jack Maddocks, Reece Hodge, Matt Toomua, Marika Koroibete, Quade Cooper, Will Genia, Isi Naisarani, Richard Hardwick, Luke Jones, Adam Coleman, Matt Philip, Jermaine Ainsley, Anaru Rangi, Tetera Faulkner. Reserves: Hugh Roach, Matt Gibbon, Sam Talakai, Ross Haylett-Petty, Angus Cottrell, Michael Ruru, Billy Meakes, Tom English.

Waratahs: Kurtley Beale, Alex Newsome, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Lalakai Foketi, Curtis Rona, Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps, Michael Wells, Michael Hooper (c), Lachlan Swinton, Rob Simmons, Ned Hanigan, Sekope Kepu, Damien Fitzpatrick, Tom Robertson. Reserves: Andrew Tuala, Harry Johnson-Holmes, Chris Talakai, Jed Holloway, Will Miller, Jake Gordon, Mack Mason, Cam Clark.