Blues v W Force: Teams

Western Force boss John Mitchell has made two changes to his starting XV ahead of what he expects will be a 'ferocious' test against the Blues in Auckland on Saturday.

Nic Henderson comes in at loosehead prop while promising young hooker Nathan Charles will make his run-on debut for the club after two matches from the pine.

The Force will look to extend their mid-season revival and record a third consecutive win after accounting for the Stormers and Highlanders in the past fortnight.

However, coach Mitchell is anticipating a tough battle against the Blues who will be determined to rebound from a loss on home soil last weekend as they chase a play-off spot.

"We expect them (the Blues) to be ferocious," Mitchell said.

Accurate

"Before that Bulls performance they were labelled inconsistent and that hurt them I think. They came out firing and put the Bulls away, so we're expecting that kind of onslaught on the weekend."

Hard-running winger Nick Cummins comes back into the reserves after serving his two-match suspension while the remainder of the squad stays the same after the club's 14-point win over the Highlanders in Queenstown last Saturday.

Charles, who joined the Force three weeks ago as an injury replacement for Ryan Tyrrell, has impressed coaching staff with his accurate throw and strong work ethic to earn an opportunity from the starting whistle.

"Nathan has been extremely impressive in his first two outings off the bench," said Mitchell.

"He'll get his chance this week to start for us while Nic Henderson also comes in to the front row after being able to refresh following a huge workload from the start of the season."

The successful return of experienced performers over the past fortnight including Cameron Shepherd, who scored two tries against the Highlanders, David Pocock and Richard Brown has given the Force added resilience and complemented the impressive yougsters coming through the ranks.

"We've had some very good performances, stayed tight and got the benefits of giving a lot of youth opportunities when we suffered the run of injuries at the start of the season," said Mitchell.

"Getting a bit of experience back has brought added confidence into the squad and we're looking forward to the challenge against the Blues on Saturday."

For the Blues, Rene Ranger and Serge Lilo have both been dropped for the trip to Auckland.

Ranger has been responsible for some moments of inspiration this season, but has also been capable of some hideous errors and Blues boss Pat Lam is clearly searching for consistency as the business end of the season approaches.

A fit-again Benson Stanley takes over at centre, partnering Luke McAlister in the midfield.

Aggressive

Tom Chamberlain replaces the out-of-sorts Lilo at openside with Peter Saili the back-up on the bench.

The Blues' injury problems continue with All Blacks lock Anthony Boric out with an ankle problem. Filo Paulo joins the second row alongside Kurtis Haiu with Andrew van der Heijden on the bench.

Both All Blacks props John Afoa (back) and Tony Woodcock (neck) need to pass fitness tests to start, with Lam desperately hoping they will so that the scrum will be more stable than last week.

"Every week there has been a challenge with that back-line. With Benson back and Luke back and the back three going really well I just felt that Rene will serve us well in the second half," Lam said on the changes.

"Serge has gone all the games. He was starting to get a bit weary there and it's a chance to get some fresh legs in. I have a lot of confidence that Tom will do the job.

"He had a whole season at NH at openside after being converted there the year before. Being with us the whole year he knows the systems, he's worked hard.

"Tom has been enthusiastic at training and just been waiting for his opportunity. I thought this week before we head off was probably the best chance to do that.

"He's raw-boned, pretty aggressive and he's just dying to get out there which hopefully we will see the benefit of on Saturday."

Blues: 15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Benson Stanley, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Rudi Wulf, 10 Stephen Brett, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Viliame Ma'afu, 7 Tom Chamberlain, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 Kurtis Haiu, 3 John Afoa/Tevita Mailau, 2 Keven Mealamu (capt), 1 Tony Woodcock/Mike Reid.
Replacements: 16 Tom McCartney, 17 Tevita Mailau, 18 Andrew Van Der Heijden, 19 Peter Saili, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Rene Ranger, 22 Paul Williams.

Western Force: 15 James O'Connor, 14 Mark Bartholomeusz, 13 Mitch Inman, 12 Ryan Cross, 11 Cameron Shepherd, 10 David Hill, 9 Chris O'Young, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Matt Hodgson, 5 Nathan Sharpe (capt), 4 Tom Hockings, 3 Tim Fairbrother, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Nic Henderson.
Replacements: 16 Ben Whittaker, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Sam Wykes, 19 Ben McCalman, 20 Justin Turner, 21 Sam Harris, 22 Nick Cummins.