Queensland coach Ewen McKenzie says the blockbuster Super Rugby clash against the Brumbies is important, but not for the play-offs reason.
Queensland coach Ewen McKenzie insists the battle odds are with the Reds as they attempt to cut down the Brumbies from their Super Rugby perch on top of the Australian conference on Saturday.
And he hinted that even more vital than moving closer to a play-offs spot is the need for the Reds get one over their ACT rivals, who, after 13 weeks, have all but poached the mantle as Australia's leading Super Rugby franchise.
The Brumbies are eight points ahead of the defending champions with five games to play for the season, but remain slight underdogs with the bookies at $1.96 for Saturday's blockbuster clash at Canberra Stadium.
The Reds are at $1.86, coming off two consecutive wins, which included an upset over competition front-runners the Chiefs in Brisbane a fortnight ago, and their desperation in needing to keep their finals campaign alive.
"Certainly if you go through the combinations and permutations, you can come up with the mathematical reasons why it's important," McKenzie said.
"But every game is must-win - that's just the way the tournament is.
"We've had no trouble getting a rise in intensity this week and that's because we'll be approaching it as a derby game and it's important that we make sure we come out on top."
McKenzie left his team announcement until late on game eve, but confirmed Ben Lucas had failed to recover in time from a groin injury suffered during last weekend's win over the Lions.
Luke Morahan is his replacement at fullback, while Beau Robinson and Liam Gill slot in as expected at blindside and openside respectively, completing the back-row set-up with No.8 Scott Higginbotham.
It's the same combination that wreaked havoc on the Brumbies in their last clash at Suncorp Stadium when the Reds won 20-13, with McKenzie pointing out that domination of the breakdown would play another critical role come Saturday.
Robinson was rested last week with an ankle strain and faced stiff selection competition from in-form No.6 Jake Schatz.
In yet another duel to keep the national selectors' interest piqued, Quade Cooper is back in the No.10 jersey for game two of his comeback from knee surgery, while Zack Holmes plays just his second in the same role for the Brumbies.
In a game littered with key battles, the Reds will take heart from their recent record against the Brumbies, having taken the honours in the Good Friday clash six weeks ago and winning their previous battle in Canberra 31-25 in March last year.
"You take confidence from wherever you can take it, but we'd probably take more confidence out of how we've been playing the past few weeks - we're playing like we think we should," McKenzie said.
Flyhalf Dallan Murphy has earned a spot on the bench.
Queensland: Luke Morahan, Dom Shipperley, Anthony Faingaa, Mike Harris, Digby Ioane, Quade Cooper, Will Genia, Scott Higginbotham, Liam Gill, Beau Robinson, James Horwill (capt), Rob Simmons, James Slipper, Saia Faingaa, Greg Holmes. Res: James Hanson, Ben Daley, Adam Wallace-Harrison, Jake Schatz, Nick Frisby, Dallan Murphy, Chris F'Sautia.
