ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham has confirmed a strong line-up for the opening match of their Japanese tour against Tokyo Sungoliaths on Saturday 7th October, headlined by Wallaby Darcy Swain.
Swain will start in the second row alongside Ed Kennedy in a forward pack that includes one-time Wallaby Connal McInerney and quarter-final hero Luke Reimer.
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Junior Wallaby scrumhalf Klayton Thorn will get his chance to start, partnering with Declan Meredith in the halves.
Larkham has gone with a full strength wing pairing of Corey Toole and Andy Muirhead, with Nathan Carroll slotting into fullback.
Australia A centre Hudson Creighton completes the backline along with Joe Wadman, who has been rewarded for a breakout season with John I Dent Cup club Gungahlin.
Wallaby Billy Pollard will produce spark on a bench that includes a mix of new signings and Academy talent.
Harrison Goddard and Will Sankey are in line for his debut for the club, with Goddard making the trip down from the NSW Waratahs whilst Sankey moves east from the Force.
Junior Wallaby Liam Bowron has been included along with Academy stars Lachlan Shaw, Badden Godfrey and Henry Palmer.
They will face a Sungoliaths team that includes new recruit Trevor Hosea, with the former Junior Wallaby departing the Rebels at the end of the Super Rugby season/
The Brumbies kicked off their two match tour of Japan with an official reception at Sapporo City Hall on Monday evening.
“The game is very important to the Brumbies," Larkham said during the week.
"We’re looking forward to the challenge, we have a very young team that has come over. Similar to the Sungoliath, we have a number of players who are away with the Wallabies.
"Not many of our players have been to Sapporo, outside of myself and Ben [Mowan]. We’ve had a look around the town, it is a beautiful town. We’ve seen the Sapporo Dome on the internet and we are very much looking forward to visiting the stadium and putting on a very good performance.”
1 Fred Kaihea
2. Connal McInerney
3. Rhys Van Nek
4. Ed Kennedy
5. Darcy Swain
6. Jahrome Brown
7. Luke Reimer
8. Charlie Cale
9. Klayton Thorn
10. Declan Meredith
11. Corey Toole
12. Joe Wadman*
13. Hudson Creighton
14. Andrew Muirhead
15. Nathan Carroll
Replacements
16. Billy Pollard
17. Liam Bowron
18. Tom Ross
19. Sila Titiuti*
20. Lachlan Shaw*
21. Will Sankey*
22. Rory Scott
23. Badden Godfrey
24. Harrison Goddard*
25. Pedro Rolando
26. Timoci Naivaluwaqa
27. Jack Hardy*
28. Henry Palmer*
*Denotes first senior appearance for Safeguard Global ACT Brumbies
