Canberra Royals veteran Rolando ready for long-awaited ACT Brumbies debut

Having toiled away in the John I Dent Cup for almost a decade, the Canberra Royals scrumhalf decided it was time.

And then came a phone call from ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham. The conversation changed everything.

Rolando had been invited to train with the team over the summer and while Larkham made no promises, it was clear anything was possible.

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The dream is set to turn into reality on Friday night after the 33-year-old was named on the bench for the Brumbies clash with the Canterbury Crusaders in Christchurch.

"It was one of the biggest roars I've heard in the team room when it got announced he was going to be debuting," teammate Ryan Lonergan said. "He's been working so hard for so long. He's the G.O.A.T of Canberra rugby and I'm pumped for him."

Larkham has made a commitment to harnessing the talent running around Canberra club rugby since his return to the Brumbies, with fellow John I Dent Cup talent Declan Meredith named on the bench for his first Super Rugby match on Friday night.

The call up comes as the coach was forced to make mass changes to comply with Rugby Australia's load management policies in the lead up to the World Cup.

James Slipper, Nic White, Tom Wright, Rob Valetini and Pete Samu have been rested, with Darcy Swain and Len Ikitau out with injury. Wallabies prop Allan Alaalatoa will return from a head knock on the bench.

While their absence makes a tough test on Friday night near impossible, it has also opened up an opportunity for a host of emerging players to stand tall in the Christchurch cauldron.

Rolando, at 33, has plenty of years of experience and Larkham is confident the scrumhalf will lift the Brumbies when called upon.

"He's been around for a long time," Larkham said. "He's been part of the Runners program for a long time, he's a genuinely good bloke in the community and he's passionate about his club, Royals. He's just waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

"Pedro's just going about his business at the moment. He's making sure he's preparing as well as he can to go out there and perform for the team because there is that responsibility for all the guys who put this jersey on to play as well as they can."

The return of Alaalatoa shapes as a major boost for the Brumbies as they look to upset the Crusaders.

The inspirational skipper suffered a concussion in the round two win over the Auckland Blues and sat out the next two matches.

Alaalatoa has experienced a number of head knocks in the past couple of seasons and Larkham said the medical staff were taking a cautious approach in his return to the field.

"We're following the HIA return to play protocols," he said. "Al's had a few over the last couple of years. He had an extended break out the back of the Wallabies season and we've just taken our time with this one.

"He was actually right to go last week, but it's like any injury, there is a recommended amount of time that you stay out for injuries, but in Al's case, we felt it was appropriate to give him another week just to make sure everything inside the head is recovered as best as possible."

Friday 5.05pm in Christchurch

1. Blake Schoupp, 2. Connal McInerney, 3. Sefo Kautai, 4. Jack Wright, 5. Cadeyrn Neville, 6. Rory Scott, 7. Luke Reimer, 8. Charlie Cale, 9. Ryan Lonergan (c), 10. Noah Lolesio, 11. Corey Toole, 12. Tamati Tua, 13. Ollie Sapsford, 14. Ben O'Donnell, 15. Andy Muirhead. REPLACEMENTS 16. Lachlan Lonergan, 17. Fred Kaihea, 18. Allan Alaalatoa, 19. Nick Frost, 20. Jahrome Brown, 21. Pedro Rolando, 22. Jack Debreczeni, 23. Declan Meredith

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