Rebels experienced duo of Mortlock and Huxley return for Blues encounter at Albany
Blues will host Rebels at the Northern Harbor Stadium, at Albany Auckland on Friday April 22, 2011.
This will be the first time the Rebels will be playing against the Auckland Blues here on this venue. Melbourne Rebels playing their first super rugby season so far has delivered some promising results in their games.
Rebels are currently placed at the 9th position in the combined Super XV with 3 win the eighth matches they have played so far. Rebels injured players have recovered on time to help team win their second win.
Although their impressive performances came at home, yet they have managed to win an away game in the season when they defeated the Western Force at Perth during round 07 games. Rebels have already defeated Brumbies, Hurricanes and Force in the season and
with the return of their key players, they do fancy themselves with a chance to deliver an upset to Blues at Albany on Friday.
Melbourne Rebels suffered 18-40 defeat by the Highlanders as some of their key players missed the action. Rebels captain Stirling Mortlock is included amongst them as he suffered from the hip injury. Mortlock has regained the fitness and will be the part
of the starting XV, which will take field on Friday. Mortlock’s will put Jimmy Hilgendorf on the bench.
The return of their Full Back and Wallaby versatile player Julian Huxley to Rebels also adds to the team’s chances. Julian Huxley last featured in Rebels match against the Reds. Julian Huxley sustained a Groin Injury that kept him out of action for a month.
It is yet to be seen how he performs on the field after recovering from the injury but his return to the side brings experience and most importantly confidence for the team. Huxley return will move Richard Kingi on the bench; Kingi played at the Full Back
in Huxley’s absence.
Rebels are still waiting on the Injury of Kevin O’ Neil. O’Neil sustained a calf injury, which resulted in him missing most of the Rebels games in the season. Danny Cipriani’s performance would again be critical for the Rebels prospects in the game. Cipriani
is the Rebels top scorer in super rugby competition so far. Until now, he has scored 84 points that includes a penalty, 10 conversions and 17 penalties.
Rebels Coach Macqueen has termed the preparation for their Friday games as their best.
He said, “I think we're going into the game probably as well prepared as we've ever been.”
The return of the experienced duo of Mortlock and Huxley gives a totally different outlook to the team.
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