Brumbies confirm South Africa touring squad
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Brumbies Media Unit - A Mudskipper Propaganda Initiative


The CA Brumbies announced their 26-man touring squad to travel to South Africa tomorrow morning.

Captain Stephen Hoiles was the only player unavailable for selection after suffering a medial ligament tear in his left knee during the CA Brumbies’ 21-11 win over the Waratahs on Friday night.

The remainder of the 22-man squad that took on the Waratahs has been retained while Guy Shepherdson will return to the fold after recovering from a virus that forced him to withdraw from Friday’s fixture.

Lock Shawn Mackay will make his first Investec Super 14 tour to South Africa while Alfi Mafi has also been called into the squad after scoring four tries in his two appearances for the Brumby Runners. Gene Fairbanks has been included to provide coverage in the inside backs after captaining the Brumby Runners to a 62-0 win over the Australian Barbarians.

Flanker Mitchell Chapman has also been called into the squad after recovering from a shoulder injury and will replace Hoiles as a back row option for the side.

CA Brumbies Head Coach Andy Friend says a replacement captain for Hoiles will be named when the side is announced on Wednesday.

“Steve’s been very strong for us this season and he will be a loss particularly as captain of the side, for which he’s done an outstanding job,” he said.

“Fortunately one of the strengths of the side this season is our depth and we’re in a fortunate position to be able to bring someone of Mitch Chapman’s calibre and experience into the squad.

“The tour also gives guys like Alfi Mafi and Shawn Mackay a chance to potentially get their first taste of Super 14 rugby for the year and Salesi [Ma’afu] will remain in the squad after what was an impressive first-up performance for the season against the Waratahs.”

The CA Brumbies’ three-week South African tour features matches against the Lions at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park (Saturday, 21 March) and Sharks at Absa Stadium in Durban (Saturday, 28 March) before heading to Bloemfontein to take on the Cheetahs at Vodacom Park (Saturday, 4 April).

Friend says the South African tour provides a significant challenge for visiting sides.

“Regardless of who you draw, the South African leg is always a tough one,” he said. “The Lions will be keen to bounce back after last weekend, the Sharks have shown that they’re one of the benchmark sides in the competition and the Cheetahs are always a very difficult prospect at home as we found out two years ago.

“There were some positive things to come out of our performance against the Waratahs but our challenge is to make sure that we continue to build on where we are now; there aren’t too many teams who’ll be looking to regress on where they stand at the moment and the competition certainly won’t get any easier.”

The Brumbies will return to Australia to take on the Stormers at Canberra Stadium on Saturday, 11 April.


Brumbies Squad to travel to South Africa
Ben Alexander, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Mitchell Chapman, Mark Chisholm, Huia Edmonds, Francis Fainifo, Gene Fairbanks, Mark Gerrard, Ben Hand, Nic Henderson, Joshua Holmes, Peter Kimlin, Christian Lealiifano, Salesi Ma’afu, Shawn Mackay, Alfi Mafi, Stephen Moore, Stirling Mortlock, Patrick Phibbs, Clyde Rathbone, Julian Salvi, Guy Shepherdson, George Smith, Tyrone Smith, Sitaleki Timani, Matt Toomua

http://www.brumbies.com.au/act.rugby/page/55561