Blues v Waratahs: Teams
Blues coach Pat Lam has been forced to make a change to his front row after prop Tony Woodcock was ruled out.
Last Updated: 14/04/11 9:34pm
Blues coach Pat Lam has been forced to make a change to his front row after prop Tony Woodcock was ruled out of the match against the Waratahs.
Woodcock has been nursing a calf strain sustained in the match against the Cheetahs and Tevita Mailau will replace him at loosehead prop.
Returning to the field from the stable of injured players is Jerome Kaino and Lam welcomes his return to bolster the forward pack which is still without All Blacks Daniel Braid and Ali Williams, as well as Woodcock.
"He's trained well this week and is excited to get back into it after recovering from his injury," said Lam.
"He's a key player for us particularly with his physicality and he leads our young loose forward trio.
"Despite their casualty list the Waratahs are still stacked full of Wallabies so we're going to have to bring Test-match intensity to the game."
Auckland's Pauliasi Manu is pulled onto the bench to provide front row cover and lock Filo Paulo returns to the 22 having recovered from his eye injury. The backline is unchanged.
New addition
Winger Tom Kingston, 19, will make his Super Rugby debut after Atieli Pakalani was ruled out earlier in the week with a hamstring injury.
Kingston is one of three new additions to the starting XV with Daniel Halangahu replacing Tom Carter in the centres, while Dave Dennis moves into the back row after Wycliff Palu was ruled out.
Head coach Chris Hickey said that despite the changes, the team would be looking to build on their performances from the last three weeks.
"We had a tough period there for a while but we've certainly improved our game throughout our last three wins," he said.
"The challenge now, particularly with a number of changes, is to continue that improvement against one of the best sides in the competition.
"Saturday will be a great occasion for Tom Kingston and we know he'll be up for the task at hand. He earned the upgrade to the Super Rugby squad on merit, he's earned another two-year contract on merit and his selection this weekend is most certainly on merit.
"Tom was consistently one of the best players on the field for the Junior Waratahs in the 'A' program which is where we wanted him to be in order to make the step up."
Daniel Halangahu comes into the starting XV in the number 12 jersey in place of Sydney University clubmate Tom Carter whose unbroken stretch of 49 Super Rugby caps since debuting in 2008 has come to an end.
Ben Mowen has shifted to number eight to replace Wycliff Palu while Dave Dennis has moved onto the side of the scrum. Flanker Pat McCutcheon has overcome a shin injury to maintain his position in the starting XV.
Pat O'Connor and Sosene have been added to the bench with Josh Holmes selected to travel as 23rd man.
Blues: 15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Luke McAllister, 11 Rene Ranger, 10 Stephen Brett, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Peter Saili, 7 Luke Braid, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Anthony Boric, 4 Kurtis Haiu, 3 John Afoa, 2 Keven Mealamu (c), 1 Tevita Mailau.
Replacements: 16 Tom McCartney, 17 Pauliasi Manu, 18 Filo Paulo, 19 Chris Lowrey, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Lachie Munro, 22 Benson Stanley.
Waratahs: 15 Lachie Turner, 14 Tom Kingston, 13 Ryan Cross, 12 Daniel Halangahu, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Ben Mowen, 7 Pat McCutcheon, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Dean Mumm (c), 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Al Baxter, 18 Pat O'Connor, 19 Sitaleki Timani, 20 Chris Allcock, 21 Brendan McKibbin, 22 Sosene Anesi.
