Wallabies No 9 shirt up for grabs in Force opener

PERTH - The battle for ownership of Australia's No 9 rugby jersey will be the spicy sideshow to the Western Force's historic opening night in the Super 14.

A record Super 14 crowd is expected to pack Subiaco Oval tonight to see whether the Force, Australian rugby's new boys, can upstage the Brumbies, for so long the team setting domestic benchmarks.

And the battle within the battle, between opposing halfbacks Matt Henjak and George Gregan, could not only impact the result but also the direction at the base of the Wallabies scrum going into next year's World Cup.

In the blue corner will be young Henjak, who will be playing against Gregan competitively for the first time.

"Personally it's a big challenge for me and a challenge I've really been looking forward to since the draw came out," Henjak said.

"It's the one game that I want to be playing and I can't wait to get out here on Friday night.

"I suppose anyone that comes up against George is in for a tough day at the office. I'll be focusing on what I have to do and trying to disrupt his game as much as I can as well."

It seems Gregan is one of the few Brumbies not afflicted with a stomach virus, which has left as many as 10 of Laurie Fisher's players struggling for fitness.

With skipper Stirling Mortlock too ill to attend yesterday's press conference, Fisher said Stephen Larkham, Matt Giteau, Dan Heenan and Nic Henderson had also been struck down, adding to a list including Al Campbell, Bill Young, and Mark Gerrard.

"We've had a few more wake up crook today, so we have probably got about 10 guys who have got some sort of stomach bug, vomiting and diarrhoea," Fisher said.

"The doc's working overtime, and it seems like it is a 24-hour type virus for most guys, fortuitously most of them had it three or four days out.

"I don't expect anyone not to play, but they are all recovering. They have got to rehydrate -- they might not be in the best of health, but they will be close enough to it."

On the battle at the base of the scrum, Fisher said he was looking forward to seeing the pupil take on master.

"George has been, and still is, an outstanding halfback and I think that will be in evidence throughout the Super 14 in 2006," Fisher said.

"And we obviously have a very good understanding of how good Matt Henjak is, he's been through our school and our academy system, so he has been schooled particularly well in the art of rugby.

"We would be expecting him to show evidence of his upbringing."

- AAP