Sam Carter is a key inclusion for the Brumbies © Getty Images

Enlarge

The Brumbies have recalled four Wallabies to the squad face Western Force in their quasi-final at GIO Stadium in Canberra on Friday.

Pat McCabe, Matt Toomua, Sam Carter and Joe Tomane have all been included in the match-day 23 as the Brumbies chase a spot in the play-offs. Nic White, meanwhile, will line up for his 50th cap with the Brumbies and Ben Mowen will equal George Gregan's record 49 caps as captain. Sam Carter partners Leon Power in the second-row with Scott Fardy moved to blindside flanker. Tomane and McCabe will be used as impact players from the bench after recovering from facial and shoulder injuries, respectively.

Josh Mann-Rea has also been selected to make his run-on debut aged 33 after prop and part-time rake Ruaidhri Murphy failed his audition as Stephen Moore's replacement against New South Wales Waratahs two weeks ago. Murphy moves to the bench with Luke Holmes dropping out of the squad, while Tom McVerry, the sixth new addition to the match-day squad, sits alongside Fotu Auelua on the bench as back-up loose forwards.

"It's nice to have some more experience back in the pack and on our bench this week," Mowen said. "The Force presents us with a huge challenge. Since 2006, this is their best chance at playing finals rugby and we need to be able to lift past that to get a result. We haven't looked at bonus points or anything past this week. The situation for us is if we beat the Force then we advance. You can't start looking any further ahead than Friday night."

The Brumbies kick off knowing the final game of the regular season has been a stumbling block in previous years, as they have won just once since 2005. They also lost to the Blues in 2012, a result that saw them slip out of the top six for the first time all season and miss the finals.

But coach Stephen Larkham is focused only on the positives, knowing the odds are stacked in favour of the Brumbies and intending fully to take advantage of his team's big-game experience.

The equation is simple for both sides heading into the last round of the competition: win and they progress to the finals; lose and they are almost surely bundled out of the competition. The scenario normally would have both sides angling hard for the underdog tag. But not the Brumbies. Larkham knows his side has a lot of advantages heading into the derby, accepting the Brumbies' run to the Super Rugby grand final last year should give them an edge over the Force - who are yet to play a final in their nine-year history.

"We are a big game team, and this is certainly a big game," Larkham said. "We've had a couple of finals campaigns. We had a qualifying final here at home last year against the Cheetahs, then we went over and beat the Bulls."

Then there's the fact the match will be played in chilly Canberra. "There's certainly an advantage of playing at home, and there's just a six-day turnaround for the Force," Larkham said.

Joe Tomane broke a cheekbone against the Sharks © Getty Images

Enlarge

The Brumbies on the other hand are coming off a bye week, the extra rest allowing Wallabies Toomua and Carter to return to the starting line-up after their respective groin and ankle injuries. Fellow Test players McCabe and Tomane have also returned from their respective injuries, while Larkham noted "the Force have a few guys out injured".

"Hugh McMeniman has been suspended as well, which makes a bit of a difference to their forward pack. So there's a fair few things going in our favour."

The game could be the last for Rathbone, Mowen, and director of rugby Laurie Fisher in Brumbies colours, but Larkham insists the squad has avoided talk of that this week.

"We're certainly not talking about this being the final game of the season," he said. "We are talking about this being the start of our finals campaign."

Brumbies: Jesse Mogg; Henry Speight, Tevita Kuridrani, Christian Leali'ifano, Clyde Rathbone; Matt Toomua, Nic White; Ben Mowen (captain), Jarrad Butler, Scott Fardy; Leon Power, Sam Carter; Ben Alexander , Josh Mann-Rea, Scott Sio. Replacements: Ruaidhri Murphy, Ruan Smith, JP Smith, Fotu Auelua, Tom McVerry , Michael Dowsett, Joe Tomane, Pat McCabe.