Reds v Brumbies: Teams

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Sam Lane will become the fourth new fly-half for the Reds this season when he makes his Super Rugby debut against the Brumbies on Friday.

Lane, son of former Wallabies centre Tim Lane, is the most recent of a string of players to fill the voids left by the injured Quade Cooper.

The 21-year-old's inclusion is one of four personnel changes made to the team's starting XV following last week's 45-19 defeat to the Western Force in Perth.

Aidan Toua will make his run-on debut at outside centre after overcoming a hamstring strain sustained in the pre-season, while lock Rob Simmons and flanker Beau Robinson return to the starting pack.

It's the first time this season the tandem act of Robinson and Liam Gill will commence the match together at blindside and openside flanker respectively.

The move means loose forward Scott Higginbotham shifts to number eight to replace Jake Schatz, who is a precautionary exclusion from the matchday 22 after a minor head collision against the Force at the weekend.

In other changes, Rod Davies returns to the wing and Luke Morahan to full-back, while cult figure Radike Samo earns a call-up to the bench.

Changes

The Brumbies hold a five-point lead at the top of the Australian conference and can open up a sizeable gap on Queensland if they dish out the Reds' fourth straight defeat.

Nic White and Christian Lealiifano will start at scrum-half and fly-half respectively - Lealiifano shifts to number 10 after Matt Toomua sustained a season-ending injury in last week's loss to the Sharks, while White comes in for Ian Prior at halfback.

In other changes to the backs, Pat McCabe shifts to inside centre while Joseph Tomane will start on the wing.

In the forwards, Michael Hooper and Ita Vaea are being rotated with the Tongan juggernaut taking the starting number seven jersey for the Australian derby clash.

Both players have been in good form this season and Brumbies supporters will look forward to Hooper making a big impact when he takes the field.

Dan Palmer has been recalled at tighthead prop pushing Ruaidhri Murphy back to the bench and Scott Sio out of the 22-man squad.

To cover for Joe Tomane's elevation to the starting side, Tevita Kuridrani has been named on the bench and will make his debut should he be given a chance against his former team-mates.

Kuridrani is one of eight Brumbies players who have moved from Queensland to the ACT to further their rugby careers.

The match will hold special significance for blindside flanker Peter Kimlin who makes his 50th appearance for the Brumbies.

Reds: 15 Luke Morahan, 14 Dom Shipperley, 13 Aidan Toua, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Rod Davies, 10 Sam Lane, 9 Will Genia, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Beau Robinson, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 Rob Simmons, 3 James Slipper, 2 James Hanson, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements: 16 Albert Anae, 17 Greg Holmes, 18 Radike Samo, 19 Van Humphries, 20 Ed Quirk, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Dallan Murphy.

Brumbies: 15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Joe Tomane, 13 Andrew Smith, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Henry Speight, 0 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Nic White, 8 Ben Mowen (c), 7 Ita Vaea, 6 Peter Kimlin, 5 Leon Power, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Dan Palmer, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Ben Alexander.
Replacements: 16 Anthony Hegarty, 17 Ruaidhri Murphy, 18 Scott Fardy, 19 Michael Hooper, 20 Ian Prior, 21 Zack Holmes, 22 Tevita Kuridrani.

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