Rebels: Delve, Vuna back for Rebels

RaboDirect Rebels Head Coach, Damien Hill, has announced his 26 man squad to tour South Africa and Perth, including Captain Gareth Delve, Wallaby, Cooper Vuna, and Super Rugby Rookie, Jason Woodward, who will all be available for the Sharks match on March 23.

Vuna has scored 11 tries in his 29 matches for the Rebels in 2011 and 2012, while Woodward scored nine in his first two seasons for the Wellington Lions in the ITM Cup.

The Rebels will be searching for their first win overseas, with the timely returns of Delve, Vuna and Woodward sure to make an immediate impact.

Coach Hill welcomed the return of his international players, paying tribute to the High Performance and Medical Staff at the Club.

“The pleasing thing is we have all players available for selection for this tour. Coming out of four local derbies, this is a wonderful testament to our Medical and High Performance Staff,” said Hill

“With Cooper and Jason coming back into selection contention, we have many combinations to consider. Jason’s offseason suggests he is a very capable player, while Cooper looks to be in the best physical shape of his career.”

2013 Rebels Captain, Gareth Delve, will also be a welcome return, with the Welsh international recovering from a mild shoulder complaint to be fully fit for the Rebels tour.

“It has been really frustrating for me the last couple of weeks. I don’t enjoy watching my teammates fromm the sidelines; I prefer to watch them inside the huddle on the field.

“The team has had the week off, we have had some pretty frank discussions on what we need to do, both on field and culturally. We depart Melbourne setting high standards, and we want to return having given a performance that this city is proud of.”

The Rebels will play the Sharks in Durban, Sunday 23 March at 2.00AM EST on FOXSPORTS 2HD, the Cheetahs at Bloemfontein Sunday 30 March at 2.00AM EST Channel TBC, followed by the Western Force in Perth on Saturday 6 April at 7.40PM EST.

The RaboDirect Rebels 26 man squad to tour South Africa and Perth:

Cruze Ah Nau*
Paul Alo-Emile
Kurtley Beale
Gareth Delve (c)
Tom English
Scott Fuglistaller
Nicolas Henderson
Scott Higginbotham
Shota Horie
Mitch Inman
Luke Jones
Richard Kingi
Lachlan Mitchell
Cadeyrn Neville
James O’Connor
Nick Phipps
Hugh Pyle
Jordy Reid
Angus Roberts
Ged Robinson
Jarrod Saffy
Rory Sidey
Nic Stirzaker
Copper Vuna
Lauire Weeks
Jason Woodward*

*Uncapped Rebels & Super Rugby