Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa has thrown his support behind young gun Luke Reimer as he gets set to debut on one of the biggest stages in Australian Rugby.
Whilst the likes of Will Miller and Henry Stowers were brought in as injury cover, Brumbies coach Dan McKellar opted to hand the Wests product a debut off the bench in the Qualifying Final against the Western Force.
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“It’s good to see Luke get his chance, he’s been nice and patient and worked really hard for his club (Wests) over the past couple of weeks,” said McKellar on Wednesday.
“He’s excited and I know his family is heavily invested in his career and I know they’ll be excited and proud of him.”
Alaalatoa is confident that Reimer will follow the lead of Fred Kaihea and Rory Scott in making the step up to Super Rugby level, albeit in a knock-out final.
“He’s someone that has been with the squad for a couple of years and he’s been ripping in training. He gets turnovers all the time,” Alaalatoa said on Reimer.
“He’s been suited up at every training to give us a body to bash and he’s been going really well in the John I Dent Cup so I think he’s going to add some great impact tomorrow night.
“He’s definitely someone that’s going to rip in and apply a lot of physicality to our game.”
This sums up the attitude of the defending premiers, who have experienced a fresh injection of talent over the past 18 months.
For Alaalatoa, watching these guys take their chances has reinforced his confidence in his side to go back-to-back.
“I think a lot of our debutants have put their hands up and have always stepped up to the occasion,” he believed.
“What balances that out is our experience. The group helps that as well, a lot of our experienced players get around to young players and make sure that they are comfortable and remind them that’s it’s a game of Rugby.
“There’s a reason why everyone is getting the opportunity. It’s because they deserve it, all they have to do is go out there and back their ability.”
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Whilst the Western Force have played like a drastically different team than the one dominated in Round Six, the Brumbies skipper still suggests that there is plenty to take from the game.
“You definitely take out our great start that we had that game,” he added.
“There were times in that second half where we could have been better and touching on it, they played some great footy in that second half.
"A lot of their games go down to the wire, we need to make sure that we stick to the gameplan and take our chances where they come."
It’s do or die for both the Brumbies and Western Force this Saturday night in Canberra. Catch all the finals action ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport as well as simulcast live on 9Gem, click here to purchase tickets.
