Mortlock gets green light

Stirling Mortlock has been recalled to the Brumbies side for their final home match of the Super 14 season against the Lions on Friday.

Captain returns for final home game of the season

Captain Stirling Mortlock has been recalled to the Brumbies side for their final home match of the Super 14 season against the Lions on Friday. The inspirational Mortlock has recovered from a head knock he received against the Blues a fortnight ago and been given the green light to resume his injury-plagued campaign. Hooker John Ulugia is the other addition to the side which beat the Sharks 27-21 last weekend. Mortlock's return to his customary position at outside centre pushes Adam Ashley-Cooper to the wing after he scored two tries against the Sharks. Winger Peter Playford has been ruled out through injury while Francis Fainifo holds down his position on the left wing. Ulugia has been elevated to the starting front row in the only change to the forward pack. The 21-year-old is excited about the call-up to the run-on side. "It's always great to get into the starting side," said Ulugia. "The side has been going well in the last few weeks and it's important that we continue playing well." "The Lions have a strong forward pack so we need to make sure our set piece is strong and we're recycling our own ball." Brumbies: 15 Mark Gerrard, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Stirling Mortlock (c), 12 Tyrone Smith, 11 Francis Fainifo, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Patrick Phibbs, 8 Julian Salvi, 7 George Smith, 6 Mitchell Chapman, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Alister Campbell, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 John Ulugia, 1 Nic Henderson.
Replacements: 16 Saia Faingaa, 17 Salesi Maafu, 18 Peter Kimlin, 19 Ben Alexander, 20 Stephen Hoiles, 21 Josh Holmes, 22 Sanualio Afeaki