Rebels v Brumbies preview

The Melbourne Rebels will happy to at home when they take on the impressive-looking Brumbies outfit in Round 2 of the 2013 Super Rugby tournament.

Both teams are coming off respective wins in the opening round, with the Rebels overcoming the Western Force, and the Brumbies beating out the 2011 champions, The Reds.

The Rebels, while imperfect, had some strong performances against the Force from a number of their players, and will be looking for the same outcome with the same team taking the field this weekend.

The Rebels front row have showed their quality and will have a tough task against the Brumbies pack.

With the Brumbies being a clinical team at the breakdown, along with the extra help of Pocock, the Rebels loose trio will need to be at their best. Higginbotham in particular will need to keep his discipline and show his worth to his new side.

Beale was impressive last week, and if he can put the likes of O’Connor, Kingi and Mitchell in space, the Rebels shouldn’t have too much trouble getting over the gain line.

The Brumbies side remains largely unchained, however, Joe Tomane moves in on the wing for Henry Speight, who had a strong game last week.

Lealiifano was solid in the midfield last week, but was inconsistent with his kicking. Nic White was more reliable with the boot and will need to continue his aggressive and clinical approach in order to top the Rebels.

Both sides have the quality to contest one another extensively, but while the Rebels are looking for the Cinderella story this season, the Brumbies are looking for some redemption of their own.

Melbourne Rebels team:

15. James O’Connor 14. Lachlan Mitchell 13. Mitch Inman 12. Rory Sidey 11. Richard Kingi 10. Kurtley Beale 9. Nick Phipps 8. Gareth Delve (c) 7. Scott Fuglistaller 6. Scott Higginbotham 5. Luke Jones 4. Hugh Pyle 3. Laurie Weeks 2. Ged Robinson 1. Nic Henderson

Replacements: 16. Shota Horie 17. Paul Alo-Emile 18. Cadeyrn Neville 19. Jarrod Saffy 20. Nic Stirzaker 21. Alex Rokobaro 22. Tom English

Brumbies team:

15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Joe Tomane, 13 Andrew Smith, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Clyde Rathbone, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Nic White, 8 Ben Mowen (captain), 7 David Pocock, 6 Peter Kimlin, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Scott Fardy, 3 Dan Palmer, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Ben Alexander.

Replacements: 16 Siliva Siliva, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Fotu Auelua, 19 Colby Faingaa, 20 Ian Prior, 21 Robbie Coleman, 22 Tevita Kuridrani.

Rugby Informer’s take: Both the Rebels and Brumbies had good opening rounds, but the Brumbies did manage to look more precise in their attack and defence. The fact that the Rebels are at home will make a difference and with the crowd behind them it will be a close game. Brumbies by 3.