Bash Brothers back in town

Fri, Mar 4, 2016, 3:00 AM
Beth Newman
by Beth Newman
Melbourne Rebels' Bash Brothers will return on Saturday night. Photo: Getty Images
Melbourne Rebels' Bash Brothers will return on Saturday night. Photo: Getty Images

The Bash Brothers are back.

Rebels captain Sean McMahon will be reunited with Jordy Reid in the Rebels’ starting back row and the 21-year-old is thrilled.

Reid will start at blindside against the Reds, with Adam Thomson and number eight and Lopeti Timani moving to the second row.

“Jordy’s back - part of the Bash Brothers,” he said.

“I love having him, he’s aggressive and he brings another side to the game that everyone needs.”

An extra bit of grunt could be handy for the Rebels as they host Queensland, after already clocking 21,770 kms in the opening two rounds of the competition.

Their load only grows in the coming weeks, with a trip to Japan still to come.

McMahon said travel was just a fact of life in the new expanded Super Rugby competition.

“The jet lag catches up with you eventually but you just get used to it and your body finds a way to bust through.

“We had a bit of a rest on Tuesday to get the bodies back in sync and then we had a full day on Wednesday and a good session on Thursday, leading into today.”

McMahon heads into his third consecutive week as stand-in captain and coach Tony McGahan was able to shed little light on regular captain Nic Stirzaker’s return date.

“It’s still a little bit unclear,” he said.

“We were hoping (he’d return for) the Samoa (trial) game and here we are four weeks later with no clarity.

“We go away early next week, on Tuesday, so wait and see.

“It’s a long season, so we need to make sure we make the best decision.”

McGahan said the selection shuffle had been simply a horses for courses mentality, with Timani slotting back into the locks and Reid starting.

“We wanted a strong lineout focus this week, a really strong scrum focus,” he said.

“We feel that being at lock Lopeti probably has more access getting into the game with his carrying staying in the middle of the field than he did last week.

“It’s more of players suiting the situation.

“Jordy was terrific last week when he came off the bench, he’s in great form at the moment."

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