Tom Cusack has gone from the Brumbies bench to captaining the storied Canberra club in Saturday's Super Rugby AU grand final rematch against the Reds.
Read on for all the latest team news in the First Nations round of Super Rugby AU and round three of New Zealand's Aotearoa competition.
Each Australian side will wear a First Nations jersey this weekend with teams also marking the occasion with educational and awareness sessions throughout the week.
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SUPER RUGBY AU, ROUND FOUR
FORCE v REBELS, Friday 8.45pm AEDT at HBF Park
Force coach Tim Sampson has made two changes to his starting lineup to play the Rebels, with Ryan McCauley and Marcel Brache coming in for Tim Anstee and Toni Pulu respectively.
McCauley will start at lock, with last weekend's man-of-the-match Fergus Lee-Warner switching to blindside flanker.
USA international winger Brache replaces Pulu on the left wing for a Force side riding the high of beating the Waratahs in Sydney last weekend.
"It's important to have continuity," Sampson said.
"Everyone contributed greatly last week, especially in terms of their composure and calmness on the field.
"It was a polished performance from the halves pairing and to have a very similar run-on XV is great.
"The Rebels are a physical side, so it's important that everyone sticks to their roles.
"We've got intelligent players throughout the squad with a great balance of youth and experienced players that complement each other."
Meanwhile, Rebels coach Dave Wessels has kept the faith with an unchanged starting XV following the second heartbreaking loss in as many weeks against the Brumbies.
"There's a fair bit of consistency from us in terms of this week's selections, because we feel the guys that have played, have earned the right to wear the jersey again," Rebels attack coach Shaun Berne said.
"The focus this week has been trying to improve our game and we feel like we're moving in the right direction and that we're very close to a win."
FORCE (15-1): Rob Kearney, Byron Ralston, Tevita Kuridrani, Richard Kahui, Marcel Brache, Jake McIntyre, Tomas Cubelli, Brynard Stander, Kane Koteka, Fergus Lee-Warner, Ryan McCauley, Jeremy Thrush, Santiago Medrano, Feleti Kaitu'u, Tom Robertson
Reserves: Jack Winchester, Angus Wagner, Greg Holmes, Sitaleki Timani, Tomas Lezana, Ian Prior, Henry Taefu, Jack McGregor
REBELS (15-1): Tom Pincus, Lachie Anderson, Stacey Ili, Reece Hodge, Marika Koroibete, Matt To'omua (c), Joe Powell, Michael Wells, Richard Hardwick, Josh Kemeny, Trevor Hosea, Ross Haylett-Petty, Pone Faamausili, James Hanson, Cabous Eloff
Reserves: Ed Craig, Isaac Aedo Kailea, Lucio Sordoni, Steve Cummins, Tom Nowlan/Brad Wilkin, Glen Vaihu, James Tuttle, Frank Lomani/Carter Gordon
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BRUMBIES v REDS, Saturday 7.45pm AEDT at GIO Stadium
Tom Cusack has gone from the Brumbies bench to captaining the storied Canberra club in Saturday's Super Rugby AU grand final rematch against the Reds.
The Brumbies are without regular skipper Allan Alaalatoa for the next three games after the Wallabies prop was banned for a nasty shot against the Rebels last weekend.
Cusack replaces Jahrome Brown at openside flanker while Tom Ross comes in for Alaalatoa at tighthead.
"It's really special for Tommy and his family, a local Canberra family, I know they'll all be really proud of him on Saturday when he leads the team out," Brumbies coach Dan McKellar said.
"It's another good sign of our investment in local talent, if you're a young boy who wants to play for the Brumbies and one day you might be able to lead them out if you work hard and are resilient like Tommy Cusack has been for a number of years."
Prop Archer Holz is in line for a debut off the bench.
"Archer's a big body, he has a real thirst for scrummaging and natural physicality in his game and I'm really pleased for Archer and his family, he's worked hard and he's a chance to make his debut on Saturday evening," McKellar said.
Meanwhile, former NRL star Suliasi Vunivalu will make his starting debut for the Reds.
As forecast by Wide World of Sports, Vunivalu will play on the right wing, a move which pushes Wallabies Jordan Petaia and Hunter Paisami into outside centre and inside centre respectively – and leaves no room for Hamish Stewart.
The other change to Brad Thorn's starting side is the return of Wallabies lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, who was suspended for the opening two rounds after being sent off against Argentina last year.
Salakaia-Loto replaces Seru Uru in the second row.
Hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa (neck) and centre Josh Flook (shoulder) have recovered from injuries to earn spots on the bench.
"We're expecting another tough battle against the Brumbies on Saturday night," Thorn said.
"This will be the fifth time in our past six games playing them in Canberra, so we're getting pretty familiar with the place.
"Suliasi has been working hard at training and gets his chance to start this weekend.
"It's also great to get some guys back with Lukhan, Brandon and also Josh Flook all making their playing returns either from suspension or injury."
BRUMBIES (15-1): Tom Banks, Andy Muirhead, Len Ikitau, Irae Simone, Mack Hansen, Noah Lolesio, Nic White, Pete Samu, Tom Cusack (c), Rob Valetini, Caderyn Neville, Darcy Swain, Tom Ross, Folau Fainga'a, Scott Sio
Reserves: Lachlan Lonergan, Harry Lloyd, Archer Holz, Nick Frost, Jahrome Brown, Ryan Lonergan, Reesjan Pasitoa, Issak Fines-Leleiwasa
REDS (15-1): Jock Campbell, Suliasi Vunivalu, Jordan Petaia, Hunter Paisami, Filipo Daugunu, James O'Connor (c), Tate McDermott, Harry Wilson, Fraser McReight, Angus Scott-Young, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Angus Blyth, Taniela Tupou, Alex Mafi, Dane Zander
Reserves: Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Harry Hoopert, Zane Nonggorr, Ryan Smith, Seru Uru, Moses Sorovi, Bryce Hegarty, Josh Flook
SUPER RUGBY AOTEAROA, ROUND THREE
CRUSADERS v CHIEFS, Saturday 5.05pm AEDT at Orangetheory Stadium
CRUSADERS (TBC)
CHIEFS (TBC)
BLUES v HIGHLANDERS, Sunday 1.35pm AEDT at Eden Park
BLUES (TBC)
HIGHLANDERS (TBC)
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