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Test No. 8 Richard Brown got the green light yesterday to start for the Western Force against the secondplaced Bulls at Pretoria on Saturday.
Prop Pek Cowan will also return to the run-on side for a match the Force must win to maintain their late-season surge towards the finals.
Brown missed last weekend’s win over the Lions because of a sprained ankle and sat out training on Monday and Tuesday.
However, the long flight to South Africa did not cause significant swelling and the match committee was told the back-rower was available.
The changes result in Tamaiti Horua and Gareth Hardy returning to the bench and Richard Stanford dropping out of the team.
The Force have won their last two matches against the Bulls, whose renowned pack will be without lock Bakkies Botha, serving the final week of a three-week ban for punching.
Bulls coach Frans Ludeke expects the Force to target the hosts out wide rather than in the forwards.
“They probably won’t stray too far from the way other Australian franchises have played against us, that is looking to play with width,” he said.
“They also like to attack you on the blindside, but we’ll formulate a game plan for that.
“Like I’ve said before, we believe we have a side capable of beating any opponents if we play to our potential. So while we’ll pay them the highest respect, we’ll be focused on what we do well.”
What the Bulls have done better than most this season is kick for territory and use the forwards to try to smash holes in opposition defences.
Ludeke indicated the Bulls would continue to attempt what most had tried this season, mostly without success: run bigger players at Force flyhalf Matt Giteau in a bid to beat him up and wear him down.
Ludeke suggested Giteau was the heartbeat of the Force.
“His decision making under pressure is superb and he has as complete a skill set as you can hope for in a flyhalf,” he said.
“We’ll have to watch him closely because he is a special player, one who rises to the big occasion.”
The Force continue to struggle to find a suitable replacement for 2010, when Giteau returns to the Brumbies.
The latest dead end was an approach to former All Black Carlos Spencer, who decided the money in England was irresistible and told the Force he would take up an option to extend his deal with Northampton.
This followed a fruitless inquiry to former Bulls and Springbok fly-half Derick Hougaard, who told the Force weeks ago he still had two years of his contract with Leicester to run.
DAVE HUGHES
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.as...ntentID=139082
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