Brumbies coach Jake White will take a reshuffled backline into the Super Rugby clash against the Sharks on Saturday after making way for the return of five-eighth Matt Toomua from a knee injury.

Toomua damaged his medial ligament against the Cheetahs three weeks ago, forcing Christian Lealiifano to step in at No.10 and Wallaby Pat McCabe into his preferred position at inside centre.

Both have notched solid performances in the two games since then for the Brumbies – a tight loss against the Chiefs in New Zealand, and last week’s 33-26 victory over the Highlanders at Canberra Stadium.

But with Toomua back a week early, White has opted in favour of his original line-up for Saturday’s next home game against the Sharks.

“We spent a lot of time working in the pre-season with Matt and we want to see that Matt grows from game to game,” White said.

“He’s got a skill set that helps the way we play.

“I see a progression for him now in the next couple of games – he was a sensation as a youngster and I’m hoping the more games he gets at No.10 the better he’s going to become, not just for us but for Australian rugby.”

He said Lealiifano had done a great job as understudy over the past fortnight, but insisted there was no room for sentimentality in Super Rugby – something White’s proved again in the case of NRL convert Joe Tomane.

Tomane has been named on the bench against the Sharks, despite his two-try heroics that set the Brumbies up for the win against the Highlanders in just his second Super Rugby game last Saturday.

“We’ve got to pick who we think is the best team,” White said.

“You can feel a bit disappointed, which I’m sure he does, but I think he’s accepted the fact that it’s all in the best interests of the group.

“Everyone understands that it’s not a case of being sentimental.”

The Brumbies, who head the Australian conference with three wins from four games, have also tweaked their forwards, with hard-working Wallabies prospect Dan Palmer ruled out for a week to recover from a cold.

It will result in Ben Alexander moving in at tight-head prop, while Irish recruit Ruaidhri Murphy gets his first run-on chance at loose-head.

Murphy, a Ireland Under 20 representative, has played all four games for the Brumbies from the bench after arriving in Canberra last year from a stint with English premiership club Exeter.

The Brumbies are also set to blood front-rower Scott Sio, who has been named in the reserves.