There’s some good news for the Melbourne Rebels ahead of their tricky round 6 visit to Invercargill to face the Highlanders; Wallaby backs Kurtley Beale and James O’Connor have both recovered from the injuries that saw them withdrawn from the team that beast the Force last week.
There’s seldom a sliver lining without a cloud attached, though, which is particularly true when it comes to injuries in Super Rugby. Both Danny Cipriani and Richard Kingi have been added to the casualty list after the Melbourne team’s first win of the season, while skipper-elect Stirling Mortlock has also yet to take the field this season.
Meanwhile, the Highlanders may be forced to turn to inexperienced flyhalf Chris Noakes as replacement for the injured Lima Sopoaga and Colin Slade, both of whom have been ruled out for the season. They have also lost the services of impressive flanker John Hardie for the remainder of the campaign – his broken toe requires surgery.

Which means I get two of my fantasy league player back! Woohoo! Who would have thought I’d ever get excited about the Rebels 🙂