Brumbies coach Jake White has challenged his youthful squad to use the first chance they get to prove their detractors wrong – this Friday night’s opening Super Rugby clash with the Western Force.
While he’s named a largely fledgling line-up that includes six debutants, he’s adamant his team can surprise.
“We’re an unknown quantity,” White said on Wednesday.
“No one else knows what we’re good at yet.
“You might assume that we play a certain style or people might assume that we are ranked 15th in the competition as a lot of media people have said.
“But at the end of the day, it’s not what they decide.
“We might surprise a lot of teams about the way we play Friday evening.”
The Brumbies sport a new-look side for the Force match, an expected consequence of having shed 13 starting players at the end of last season.
While Wallabies Stephen Moore and Ben Alexander have recovered from injury niggles and will start in the front row, the Brumbies’ backline is altogether a new entity.
Winger Jesse Mogg will make his first Super Rugby appearance in the match, alongside Fijian-born speedster Henry Speight and Robbie Coleman at fullback, given Pat McCabe’s continued absence through shoulder surgery.
White hinted there could well be a revolving door with the backs this season.
“It’s about picking a back three that can do a certain job,” he said. “The fact that Jesse can play fullback and wing and Robbie can do the same is obviously a bonus for us.”
Leon Power, who arrived at the Brumbies from New Zealand provincial side Bay of Plenty, will start at lock, while rookies Ruaidhri Murphy, Scott Fardy, Zack Holmes and Joe Tomane have been named on the bench.
The Brumbies defeated the Force 25-0 in a trial earlier this month, but White said the ACT-franchise will have to take it up a notch to beat their top-tier side which includes Wallabies flanker David Pocock.
He denied nullifying Pocock the Brumbies’ chief concern, but noted he had a number of ways in store to “get him out of his comfort zone”.
Meanwhile, Brumbies skipper Ben Mowen warned fans not to look too much into the first game.
“To be perfectly honest, our season isn’t over if we lose and our season’s not made if we win,” he said.
“We’ll play our best footy at the tail end of the season when it’s the best time.”
Brumbies: Robbie Coleman, Henry Speight, Andrew Smith, Christian Lealiifano, Jesse Mogg, Matt Toomua, Nic White, Ben Mowen, Ita Vaea, Peter Kimlin, Sam Carter, Leon Power, Dan Palmer, Stephen Moore, Ben Alexander. Res: Anthony Hegarty, Ruaidhri Murphy, Scott Fardy, Michael Hooper, Ian Prior, Zack Holmes, Joe Tomane.
