New Zealander Matt McGahan faces a torrid debut for the Queensland Reds in Saturday’s Super Rugby derby clash with the NSW Waratahs.
The son of New Zealand rugby league great Hugh McGahan, the 26-year-old playmaker suffered a broken leg in the pre-season after joining the Reds from Japan club rugby.
He has been selected to start at fullback in place of the injured Hamish Stewart, becoming the fourth player to appear in the No.15 jersey for the Reds this season.
It’s a crucial match for both traditional rivals, with just one point separating them and ground to make up on the Brumbies and Melbourne Rebels in the congested Australian conference.
McGahan, who made 12 appearances for the Blues in the 2015 and 2016 Super Rugby seasons, has proven his fitness recently with five matches in Brisbane club rugby.
Isaac Lucas did well replacing Stewart (shoulder) in last week’s 30-24 loss to the Melbourne Rebels in Melbourne but is unavailable this week after being selected for a Junior Wallabies camp.
“(McGahan) has been working hard at training and deserves this opportunity,” Reds coach Brad Thorn said.
Thorn has made one other change to his starting XV for the clash with the Waratahs with Lukhan Salakaia-Loto coming into the back row and Angus Scott-Young shifting to No.8.
Veteran Scott Higginbotham drops to the bench to make way for Salakaia-Loto while Seb Wileman could make his Super Rugby debut after being recalled to the bench.
The Reds have lost their past 10 matches against their NSW rivals.