Melbourne Rebels captain Gareth Delve has been ruled out of this weekend's game against Southern Kings. Picture: Michael Klein Source: Herald Sun
MELBOURNE captain Gareth Delve remains sidelined for Saturday's Super Rugby clash with the Southern Kings as the Rebels chase rare successive wins.
Wallaby backrower Scott Higginbotham will retain the captaincy after coach Damien Hill opted to rest Delve ahead of next week's bye.
The Rebels have reshuffled their starting XV to allow James O'Connor's move to five-eighth, with Richard Kingi taking over at fullback.
Cooper Vuna, who returned in last week's 30-23 win over Western Force, will start on the wing.
Those changes pushed Angus Roberts to the bench with Tom English dropping out of the 22.
Lachlan Mitchell returns to the bench after recovering from a corked leg.
"It was a solid performance in Perth and and we feel we have a very balanced side with James at 10 this weekend," Hill said.
"Angus is continuing to develop at this club, as is Jordy Reid and Nic Stirzaker. They are all part of a new brigade of talent coming through this Rebels program.
"Hill and his players were impressed with the Kings after reviewing the competition's youngest franchise in its stunning 28-28 draw with the ACT Brumbies.
"This is a very spirited Southern Kings outfit with a great leader in Andries Strauss. We know what they are capable of," Hill said.
"Many people close to the Kings would not have seen last weeks result against the Brumbies as a surprise."
Like the Rebels, the Kings are coming off a positive performance and are still searching for improvement.
Kings captain Strauss said the Kings have to cut their penalty count.
"We gave away 18 penalties against the Brumbies, of which many were at the breakdown and at crucial times in the game and we need to look at reducing those," he said.
"For many of the players this has been their first tour, and they have gained a lot of new experiences through the tour, both on and off the field."
Strauss expects the Rebels to be hard to beat as they chase successive wins for only the third time in three seasons.
"The Rebels have come back very strong against the Western Force last week," Strauss said.
"Many people have written them off after they took a hiding in the game against the Sharks, but they are not to be underestimated."
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