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Flanker Luke Doherty will start for the first time in this season’s Investec Super 14 when the Emirates Western Force play the Lions from Johannesburg on Saturday night at Subiaco Oval.
Doherty moves from the bench to the starting 15, replacing the injured David Pusey at blindside flanker.
Also back in the run-on team is No. 8 Scott Fava, who will be looking to make a positive impression after being stood-down from last week’s match for a breach of team protocol, and the strong performance of his replacement at the back of the scrum, Richard Brown.
The versatile and indefatigable Brown moves to the bench as part of rotation policy.
Flyhalf James Hilgendorf returns to the 22 as a reserve, with the Emirates Western Force head coach John Mitchell opting for consistency in the backline.
Mitchell said relationships take time to develop and he was happy with the way the backs were starting to gel. He said he was keen to put the onus back on the current combination, particularly against the Lions pairing of Jaco Pretorius and Jaque Fourie.
“I regard Fourie as one of the best centres in the world and the Lions back three are very good finishers,” he said.
Mitchell said the Lions had a quality scrum and played with speed and width, and he was expecting a very physical contest.
“They will also be high in energy and confidence after squeezing out the Crusaders last weekend, so you cannot afford to underestimate this team,” Mitchell said.
“The challenge for us is to be patient in our execution, work hard and avoid taking short cuts,” he said.
“It’s great to be back in Perth and we want to play well for our fans.”
The squad is:
1. Gareth Hardy
2. Brendan Cannon
3. Troy Takiari
4. Rudi Vedelago
5. Nathan Sharpe (c)
6. Luke Doherty
7. Matt Hodgson
8. Scott Fava
9. Matt Henjak
10. Matt Giteau
11. Cameron Shepherd
12. Junior Pelesasa
13. Ryan Cross
14. Scott Staniforth
15. Drew Mitchell
16. Tai McIsaac
17. Angus Scott
18. Richard Brown
19. David Pocock
20. Chris O’Young
21. James Hilgendorf
22. Haig Sare