Fly-half Declan Meredith will captain the ACT Brumbies for the first time when they play Hong Kong China in a friendly on Saturday at Hong Kong Football Club (kick-off 4.30pm local/7.30pm AEDT).
Meredith, 26, had a strong season in Super Rugby Pacific before starting in every one of our Super Rugby AUS fixtures. He will lead a relatively inexperienced side, with players currently with the Wallabies or featured for Australia A against Japan XV last month not considered for selection.
Brumbies head coach Stephen Larkham, who is already in Hong Kong and helped local coaches at a training session yesterday, was excited for his players to get the chance to go to Hong Kong and praised Meredith for his leadership skills.
“It's a good opportunity for us. We generally don't get enough games together at this time of year where they can test themselves at a higher level and bring a fair bit of connection into the team,” Larkham said.
“The beauty of rugby is you can play it anywhere in the world and a lot of these guys have not been to Hong Kong. So we'll give them an opportunity where they can get out and have a bit of a look around.
“They will have opportunities to go and experience a different culture and part of the world, and then we get back into a bit of Groundhog Day through the pre-season from next week onwards.
“Declan is one of our game controllers who regularly talks during the game. He'll be one of the most active participants in huddles, steering the around the field. And he's been in the program as long as anyone else in this squad.”
Hong Kong China secured qualification for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia after defeating Korea 70-22 in the final round of the 2025 Asia Rugby Championship in July.
The Brumbies have a long-standing relationship with Hong Kong Rugby and this match will be played with a view to support them in their preparation for the next Rugby World Cup.
Hong Kong played our Brumby Runners as recently as May this year, acting as a double header before our Round 12 fixture against the NSW Waratahs, with the Runners winning 55 14. Kadin Pritchard (two), Hudson Creighton, Cadeyrn Neville, Dan Nelson and Austin Anderson all scored tries that day and are set to appear in some capacity on Saturday.
This weekend, Finn Baxter and Drew Brndusic are set to make their Brumbies club debuts in the front-row, with Macdougall Medallist (John I Dent Cup player of the year) Chris Mickelson starting at hooker.
At lock, Lachlan Shaw is partnered by Harvey Cordukes, the second-row combination for all three of our Super Rugby AUS games.
Super Rugby Pacific regular Tuaina Taii-Tualima is joined in the back-row by Toby Macpherson and Jack Harley.
In the halves, Klayton Thorn is again joined by Meredith at fly-half, with the pair starting every one of our Super Rugby AUS clashes together.
Jarrah McLeod and Pritchard line up in the centres, resuming their partnership with Australia U20s from the World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa in 2024.
While in the back three, Anderson will pull on the full-back jersey, with Creighton and Shane Wilcox on the wings.
On the bench, there is a six-two split in favour of the forwards. Lipina Ata, Nate Hepi and Tauati Chan-Tung are named as front-row replacements, with Ollie Aylmer and veteran Neville covering the second-row.
Back-row Judah Saumaisue will be looking to make an impact too, with scrum-half Nelson and fly-half Joe Dillon rounding off the bench.
ACT Brumbies v Hong Kong China, Saturday 8 November (4.30pm kick-off local time)
Hong Kong Football Club, 3 Sports Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong
Streamed live on RugbyPass TV
Starting XV:
- Finn Baxter
- Chris Mickelson
- Drew Brndusic
- Harvey Cordukes
- Lachlan Shaw
- Toby Macpherson
- Jack Harley
- Tuaina Taii Tualima
- Klayton Thorn
- Declan Meredith ©
- Hudson Creighton
- Jarrah McLeod
- Kadin Pritchard
- Shane Wilcox
- Austin Anderson
Replacements:
16. Lipina Ata
17. Nate Hepi
18. Tauati Chan-Tung
19. Ollie Aylmer
20. Cadeyrn Neville
21. Judah Saumaisue
22. Dan Nelson
23. Joe Dillon
