Brumbies v W Force: Teams

The Brumbies have named an unchanged side for the third week in a row ahead of their Super 14 clash with the Western Force in Canberra on Saturday.

Scrum-half Patrick Phibbs (dead leg), Clyde Rathbone (ankle), Francis Fainifo (head knock) and Stephen Hoiles (ankle) have all been cleared to play and will take the field for the Super 14's first Australian derby in 2009.

The Canberra-based side is undefeated so far this season while the Force have a win and a loss from their first two outings.

Western Force coach John Mitchell has rung the changes to his starting line-up for the visit to the Canberra Stadium.

A torn medial knee ligament will sideline Gareth Hardy for up to six weeks, opening the door for 21-year-old Pek Cowan to return to the starting line-up at loosehead prop in one of five changes by Mitchell.

Cowan will pack down alongside experienced duo Tai McIsaac and Ben Castle in the front row, while Tom Hockings has won his first run-on appearance for the season at lock and Matt Hodgson will start in the number six jersey.

Hodgson has played just 25 minutes of each of the Force's opening two matches, but has been favoured for the weekend clash ahead of former Brumbies forward Tamaiti Horua.

Confident

Mitchell has also made changes to his backs, moving 18-year-old James O'Connor to the bench and calling on the experience of Junior Pelesasa at inside centre.

Pelesasa has spent the opening fortnight of the season confined to the sidelines nursing a hamstring injury, while O'Connor dealt with a sprained ankle during the week.

Force medical staff are confident the teenager has overcome the complaint, but will assess Cameron Shepherd's condition ahead of game day before he is confirmed as a starter on the right wing.

Shepherd sat out last week's hard-fought 16-10 victory over the Cheetahs with ankle soreness and will have his situation monitored during the team's final two training sessions.

Drew Mitchell retains the full-back jersey after a strong showing against the Cheetahs, while another former Brumby Richard Stanford is in line to make his debut off the bench.

Stanford was acquired from the Brumbies for the 2009 season by the Force after six appearances in the navy blue jersey.

Brumbies: 15 Mark Gerrard, 14 Clyde Rathbone, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Stirling Mortlock, 11 Francis Fainifo, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Patrick Phibbs, 8 Stephen Hoiles (capt), 7 George Smith, 6 Julian Salvi, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Ben Hand, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Nic Henderson.
Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Sitaleki Timani, 19 Peter Kimlin, 20 Josh Holmes, 21 Matt Toomua, 22 Tyrone Smith.

Force: 15 Drew Mitchell, 14 Cameron Shepherd, 13 Ryan Cross, 12 Junior Pelesasa, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Josh Valentine, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Matt Hodgson, 5 Nathan Sharpe (c), 4 Tom Hockings, 3 Ben Castle, 2 Tai McIsaac, 1 Pek Cowan.
Replacements: 16 Luke Holmes, 17 Kieran Longbottom, 18 Richard Stanford, 19 Tamaiti Horua, 20 Chris O'Young, 21 James O'Connor, 22 Haig Sare.