The Melbourne Rebels have named their team for Saturday’s historic clash against the Fiji Drua in Round 6 of the Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific competition.
Melbourne will become the first Australian side to play an official Super Rugby match in Fiji, something the Club is immensely proud of given its strong connection with Pasifika culture and its local community across Victoria.
Chasing their third win in four games, the Rebels enter the crucial clash buoyed by the returns of Vice Captain, Reece Hodge, and Wallabies’ star, Andrew Kellaway.
After working closely with the Club’s medical team, Hodge has now fully recovered from a significant hand laceration suffered against the Chiefs in Round 4 and will line up alongside Stacey Ili at centre.
Rebels' fans will get their first taste of Andrew Kellaway in the new Dynasty pink jersey, with the exciting back putting a nagging foot injury behind him, named on the bench alongside James Tuttle and David Feliuai.
Meanwhile, Rebels Head Coach Kevin Foote has made one change to his starting pack, with Josh Canham returning for his first game since the Rebels’ Round 3 win over the Waratahs, while Jordan Uelese has been named on the bench alongside Cabous Eloff, Pone Faamausili, Daniel Maiava and Angelo Smith, who is set to play his first Super Rugby match in his home country.
Melbourne Rebels Head Coach, Kevin Foote, said his side was excited about this week’s opportunity.
“Every game is of great importance to us – we’re desperate to play finals,” said Foote.
“Going into Fiji is going to be a great challenge – we saw the Crusaders go down to them a couple of weeks ago, so we know what the Drua are going to bring. We have a really clear game plan on how we’re going to against them.
“The growth of the group now will be going away from home and putting in a good performance on the road, so we’re excited.”
Melbourne Rebels Match Day 23 vs Fijian Drua
1 Matt Gibbon
2 Alex Mafi
3 Sam Talakai
4 Tuaina Taii Tualima
5 Josh Canham
6 Josh Kemeny
7 Brad Wilkin
8 Vaiolini Ekuasi
9 Ryan Louwrens
10 Carter Gordon
11 Monty Ioane
12 Stacey Ili
13 Reece Hodge
14 Lachie Anderson
15 Joe Pincus
16 Jordan Uelese
17 Cabous Eloff
18 Pone Fa'amausili
19 Angelo Smith
20 Daniel Maiava
21 James Tuttle
22 David Feliuai
23 Andrew Kellaway
