VENUE & TIME: Canberra Stadium, Canberra, Friday March 5, 9.40pm (NZDT)
HEAD TO HEAD: Played 15 – Brumbies 11, Lions/Cats 4
LAST TIME: March 21, 2009 (Johannesburg) – Lions 25-17 Brumbies (round 6)
LAST TIME AT VENUE: April 25, 2008 (Canberra) – Brumbies 28-21 Lions (round 11)
Match Odds:
TAB NZ: Brumbies: $1.06, Lions: $8.00
WALKING WOUNDED: The Brumbies emerged from a torrid encounter with the Stormers unscathed allowing coach Andy Friend to name an unchanged 22 for his side's first home fixture of the season.
In contrast, Lions coach Dick Muir has made a whopping eight changes to his starting line-up following three-consecutive losses to start the season. Flyhalf Carlos Spencer, who currently sits on 99 Super rugby caps, will be given up until game day to prove his fitness but is an unlikely starter after picking up a knock against the Hurricanes. Centre Deon van Rensburg (thumb) is the other player not considered through injury while the other six changes are a result of the team's rotation policy - not poor form - according to Muir.
FORM:
Brumbies Past Five:
Week 3: Win, 19-17 v Stormers, Cape Town
Week 2: Loss, 50-32 Bulls, Pretoria
Week 1: Win, 24-15 v Force, Perth
Week 14: Loss, 10-7 v Chiefs, Hamilton
Week 13: Win, 37-15 v Blues, Canberra
Lions Past Five:
Week 3: Loss, 33-18 v Hurricanes, Wellington
Week 2: Loss, 72-65 v Chiefs, Johannesburg
Week1: Loss, 26-13 v Stormers, Johannesburg
Week 14:Loss, 38-33 v Waratahs, Johannesburg
Week 13: Win, 27-22 v Highlanders, Johannesburg
The Brumbies bounced backed well from a disappointing loss against the Bulls in Pretoria to pip the highly-fancied Stormers and return to Canberra Stadium with two wins in the bank following a torrid three-match road trip. Although currently occupying seventh spot on the ladder, look for the Canberra-based club to rocket up the charts in the coming weeks, as seven of its final 10 matches are home fixtures.
The Lions find themselves in familiar territory after three rounds of the competition in 13th spot on the ladder. But while they have been perennial underachievers in recent seasons, the men from Johannesburg have shown signs of improvement against tough opposition in the early rounds. Defence remains an issue for the Lions having conceded more points than any other side, but they did show a marked improvement in that area against the Hurricanes last start.
WHO'S HOT: George Smith deservedly received most of the plaudits following his match-winning intercept try in the 77th minute against the Stormers but he wasn't the only Brumby to perform well in Cape Town in what was a strong performance across the board. Matt Giteau controlled things well from flyhalf as the Brumbies executed an ultra-conservative game plan to perfection, while the forwards toiled tirelessly all day in what was an out-and-out slugfest.
It would be a stretch to include any of the Lions in this category just yet but enigmatic flyhalf Spencer is still capable of anything on his day - let's just hope he can get on the field.
WE THINK: The Brumbies have signalled their intentions to run the ball at every opportunity this weekend, so this one could get pretty ugly for the Lions. Giteau's return to Canberra Stadium following three years with the Force will provide extra motivation for the