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Richard Graham will use the sixth centre pairing in six games when Western Force take on Super Rugby champions Queens- land Reds at nib Stadium tomorrow night.
In the latest move, the coach has brought winger Nick Cummins into outside centre to partner Winston Stanley.
Cummins has regularly managed to break defensive lines with his straight running from the flank and the No.13 spot has long been considered by many as his best position.
"Nick has been carrying the ball strongly. His ability to break the line and give us go forward has been a consistent feature of his game," Graham said.
"Tactically that will assist us in the way we want to play against the Reds. Having him at 13 will be very good for us."
The decision to move Cummins was partly forced by the long list of injured backs, including Napolioni Nalaga, Cameron Shepherd, Patrick Dellit, Will Tupou and Justin Turner.
But Graham needs to find a way of getting the midfield penetration that has been lacking.
Opposition teams know the Force's main attacking weapon is their pack and that nothing much has come through midfield. They defend accordingly, often not throwing numbers into the breakdown.
"We need to be better in that area. There's absolutely no doubt about that," Graham said.
The injuries have opened the door earlier than expected to former Aquinas College student and 2009 Australian schoolboys' back Kyle Godwin, 19, who has been pulled on to the bench for the first time.
Godwin is primarily a fly-half but has put in solid perform- ances for Force A at full-back. His selection, along with another young fly-half, Ben Seymour, gives Graham some options.
Wallabies back-rower Richard Brown starts for the first time this year with another Wallaby flanker, Ben McCalman, returning from a shoulder problem on the bench.
Toby Lynn will partner Nathan Sharpe in the second row with Sam Wykes ruled out with an ankle injury. Samu Wara gets his second start on the wing after scoring a try in his starting debut against the Waratahs two weeks ago.
The Reds, who are coming off an embarrassing 61-8 loss to the Bulls in Pretoria, also have an extensive injury list of backs.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...ew-middle-man/
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