The ACT Brumbies will throw Darcy Swain into the captaincy role despite the Western Force launching an audacious bid to lure the Wallabies lock across the country.
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Swain will captain the Brumbies for the first time as coach Stephen Larkham gives his side a makeover for a Super Rugby Pacific clash against Moana Pasifika at Canberra Stadium on Friday night.
Loosehead prop Harry Vella will make his Super Rugby debut while scrumhalf Harrison Goddard is poised to make his first start in Brumbies colours.
Vella - who spent 16 months sidelined following an anterior cruciate ligament tear - comes into the starting side with Blake Schoupp ruled out with a shoulder injury.
Len Ikitau is missing with a knee injury with Hudson Creighton named at outside centre for his first Super Rugby appearance of the year, while Ollie Sapsford shifts to the wing in place of Andy Muirhead (knee injury).
But the biggest shock is Swain, the target of an audacious recruitment raid launched by the Western Force in November.
Brumbies officials concede the club may struggle to retain the 26-year-old with an all-star cast of locks on their books.
Test-capped quartet Swain, Cadeyrn Neville, Nick Frost and Tom Hooper have all been used in coach Stephen Larkham's rotation.
Neville and Frost are contracted with the club until the end of 2025, while club bosses are keen to retain rising star Hooper beyond this season.
But two weeks after returning to the Super Rugby scene following a knee injury, Swain will captain the Brumbies with Ryan Lonergan set to start on the bench.
Lonergan's shift to the bench puts Goddard - who joined the Brumbies this season after stints with the NSW Waratahs and Major League Rugby - in the hot seat to start against Moana Pasifika.
"My game is to create some spark," Goddard said.
"I've just got to play my game, that's as a running threat, and try to create some spark. Obviously there is a great forward pack here to be able to do that.
"There are some great nines here, so whatever role Bernie and the coaching staff want me to do, I'll fill that. If that's starting, 15 [minutes], 30, I'll be ready to go to put on the jersey and do it proud.
"Credit to the club, we've got some great depth here and everyone knows their details pretty well."
Friday's game is a double-header with the Brumbies to face the Melbourne Rebels in a Super Rugby Women's clash before the men's match.
The Tana Umaga-coached Moana Pasifika are in the midst of their best start to a Super Rugby season since joining the competition, having chalked up wins over the Fijian Drua and Western Force.
"They had a great win last week, they've been getting better and better since last year. A very physical team with pace out wide, we've just got to do what we've got to do and just get the chocolates," Goddard said.
"Last week [against the Highlanders] took a bit of a toll but boys are pumped, it was good to get a win over there. Belief was always there, we've been working pretty hard since pre-season last year.
"We got off to a slow start but we've been building. The boys just ripped in and focused on winning the physical battle and it paid off."
Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
