Rocky Elsom is poised to make his first appearance for the Waratahs since 2008 after he was named on the bench to face the Rebels.
At Sydney Football Stadium, Saturday April 21, kick-off 10.40am
Rocky Elsom is poised to make his first appearance for the Waratahs since 2008 after he was provisionally named on the bench to face the Rebels.
The former Australia captain had been sidelined with an ongoing hamstring problem - but he has now been included on an initial eight-man bench for the clash.
Coach Michael Foley, who has retained the same starting XV from the win over the Western Force, will drop one man from the bench on Friday.
The Rebels welcome back Cooper Vuna to their squad after the cross-code convert completed his ban.
Vuna returns on the bench, with the Rebels making two changes to their starting XV - with flanker Michael Lipman and centre Lloyd Johansson coming in.
Lipman's inclusion on the blindside means Luke Jones starts in the second row, while Johansson replaces Mitch Inman, who has broken his hand.
Waratahs: 15 Bernard Foley, 14 Tom Kingston, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 Brendan McKibbin, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Chris Alcock, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson (c).
Replacements: 16 Rocky Elsom, 17 Daniel Halangahu, 18 Jono Jenkins, 19 Sarel Pretorius, 20 Paddy Ryan, 21 Lopeti Timani, 22 Sitaleki Timani, 23 John Ulugia.
Melbourne Rebels: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Lachlan Mitchell, 13 Lloyd Johansson, 12 James O'Connor, 11 Mark Gerrard, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Gareth Delve (c), 7 Michael Lipman, 6 Jarrod Saffy, 5 Hugh Pyle, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Rodney Blake, 2 Ged Robinson, 1 Nic Henderson.
Replacements: 16 Luke Holmes, 17 Jono Owen, 18 Al Campbell, 19 Tim Davidson, 20 Richard Kingi, 21 Julian Huxley, 22 Cooper Vuna.
