A depleted ACT Brumbies are glad to have bullocking back-rower Charlie Cale back from injury as they look to defend their unbeaten Super Rugby Pacific home record against the Highlanders.
Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham’s selection misfortune was doubled when prop Blake Schoupp injured his shoulder in last round’s clash with the Western Force, joining veteran James Slipper on the sidelines for their quarter-final.
With his front row under-manned, Larkham was pleased Cale had overcome an ankle injury to return to an otherwise fully-fit forward pack.
“He’s been really good for us this year and we weren’t sure how the rehab was going to go over. He’s progressed really well and trained fully yesterday and had no issues coming out of the day,” Larkham said of the No.8.
“He’s got good presence at line-out time, he’s good in the wide channels with his ball-carrying, he’s a very dynamic, athletic player, so trying to bring those qualities into the game as well.
“Hopefully there’s still a hangover of the connection from the last time he was out there with the boys. We’ve had a fairly settled team throughout the whole year and Charlie has been a big part of that … so hopefully those combinations come.”
The club on Wednesday announced Cale had signed a contract extension keeping him in Canberra until the end of 2025.
“I love the Brumbies. I was born in Sydney, but I call this place home now,” said the 23-year-old.
“They took a chance on me and I’m forever grateful.
“I want to be here for a long time.”
The Brumbies go into Saturday night’s clash with the Highlanders as strong favourites, having won each of their seven games in the nation’s capital this season.
But Highlanders coach Clarke Dermody is undaunted by the challenge.
“We love travelling. We obviously have to do a fair bit of it from Dunedin but it’s a good chance for our team to get tight … and those connections hopefully can get us through the tough times that are going to surely come in this game,” he said.
Dermody’s men will have to be much better than their 41-14 drubbing at the hands of the Hurricanes last week, when they were no match for the minor premiers’ power and pace.
The return of Cam Millar’s kicking will be a big boost after the halfback recovered from injury to be named for the trip across the Tasman.
“We probably didn’t adapt to the conditions as well as they did, it was pretty windy that night,” Dermody said of the Hurricanes defeat.
“We didn’t quite get our territory game how we wanted it and then we just fell off too many tackles. They are a powerful team and made us pay for errors.
“When you’re playing the best teams, your game’s got to be 100 per cent. So that’s what we’ve been driving for this week, making sure that we’re fully aware of the challenge that’s coming.”
