Recalled winger Nigel Ah Wong says the ACT Brumbies' new faces must step up immediately against the NSW Waratahs to take their chance as coach Stephen Larkham rotates his players.
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The Brumbies will inject Ah Wong, Scott Fardy and Lolo Fakaosilea into their starting XV for the rivalry battle at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.
Fardy is back in the team after being rotated out last weekend to give him an early-season break while Ah Wong has been picked to replace James Dargaville, despite the latter's sparkling form last week.
Fakaosilea gets his first Brumbies start after Chris Alcock was ruled out with concussion while Ben Hyne and Jordan Jackson-Hope join the bench.
Larkham is determined to give all of his players a chance to impress this year, putting reputations aside to reward determination on the fringes.
Ah Wong's bid for a starting spot on the wing was delayed after he spent the off-season in Japan playing for Suntory.
"The nature of professional footy is that you want to challenge for a spot every week," Ah Wong said.
"All I can do is concentrate on my performance and make sure I was in the best position when called on.
"I knew coming back late I had to prove myself to the coaches and missing out a lot of the pre-season, I knew I had to get stuck in early."
The Brumbies and Waratahs will compete for the inaugural Dan Vickerman Cup in their only clash of the 2017 Super Rugby season.
The Waratahs are hoping flyhalf Bernard Foley will recover from concussion to take his place, but Bryce Hegarty could be a late inclusion in the starting side.
The Brumbies have ruled out Alcock because of similar symptoms, opening the door for Fakaosilea to get a crack at the ACT No. 7 jersey.
"He had the head knock on the weekend and had to come off ... he was a little bit groggy and tried to get back to training but just felt ordinary," Larkham said of Alcock.
"From there it was a race against the clock and it was too much of a risk."
Wallabies prop Scott Sio is edging closer to a return from a hamstring injury will Jarrad Butler will play pre-season club rugby to build up his game time.
Larkham opted to promote Hyne last week and rest Fardy in an early-season swap, but Fardy's return will provide the young Brumbies with big-game experience against the Waratahs.
"Fards is refreshed now and comes back into the side," Larkham said.
"We won the game [against the Force] last week and Fards comes into this game feeling better than he was."
SUPER RUGBY ROUND FOUR
Saturday: NSW Waratahs v ACT Brumbies at Allianz Stadium, 7.45pm.
Brumbies team: 15. Aidan Toua, 14. Henry Speight, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Kyle Godwin, 11. Nigel Ah Wong, 10. Wharenui Hawera, 9. Joe Powell, 8. Jordan Smiler, 7. Lolo Fakaosilea, 6. Scott Fardy, 5. Sam Carter, 4. Rory Arnold, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 2. Josh Mann-Rea, 1. Ben Alexander. Reserves: 16. Robbie Abel, 17. Nic Mayhew, 18. Leslie Leuluaialii-Makin, 19. Blake Enever, 20. Ben Hyne, 21. De Wet Roos, 22. Jordan Jackson-Hope, 23. Andrew Smith.
Waratahs team: 15. Andrew Kellaway, 14. Reece Robinson, 13. Israel Folau, 12. Irae Simone, 11. Rob Horne, 10. Bernard Foley/Bryce Hegarty, 9. Nick Phipps, 8. Jed Holloway, 7. Michael Hooper, 6. Jack Dempsey, 5. Will Skelton, 4. Dean Mumm, 3. Sekope Kepu, 2. Tolu Latu, 1. Tom Robertson. Reserves: 16. Hugh Roach, 17. Paddy Ryan, 18. David Lolohea, 19. David McDuling, 20. Ned Hanigan, 21. Michael Wells, 22. Jake Gordon, 23. Bryce Hegarty/David Horwitz (TBC).
