Reds side to play Bulls in Pretoria

Apr 14 • General News, Super Rugby • 1710 Views • Comments Off on Reds side to play Bulls in Pretoria

The St.George Queensland Reds have announced their side to play the Bulls in Pretoria this Sunday morning (AEST).
The side features one change to the starting lineup which defeated the Highlanders last weekend, with lock Rob Simmons replaced by Ben Matwijow due to a shoulder injury. The match will be Matwijow’s first start in Super Rugby.

There are also two changes to the bench, with uncapped Queensland Under-20s lock Lukhan Tui and scrumhalf James Tuttle in line to make their debut. Tui’s inclusion follows Matwijow’s promotion to the starting side, while 2015 Queensland Country captain Tuttle has replaced injured Number 9 Scott Gale (hand).

Both players featured heavily in Queensland’s title success in the Super U20s Championship earlier this month and were this week named in the Australian Under-20s squad for the upcoming Oceania Rugby U20s Championship at Bond University, Gold Coast this May.

Reds co-interim head coach Nick Stiles said: “While there are a couple of changes, we’ve managed to maintain a reasonable level of continuity throughout the side so far this season and those combinations are starting to show.

“It’s disappointing not to have the experience of Rob (Simmons) there this weekend, but we thought it was best to give his shoulder another week to heal. Ben (Matwijow) has been making a solid impact off the bench and we know he can do a job for us on Saturday night.

“It also presents a great opportunity for Lukhan (Tui) to potentially make his debut. Even though he was part of the Queensland Under-20s, he has been training with the squad since pre-season and has a heck of a lot of potential. James (Tuttle) is another guy who has been training with us all year and we’re confident he is ready to play at this level. Having the Queensland Under-20s as part of our program is a massive benefit. We’ve worked with the guys, seen them play and know what they’re capable of.

“The Bulls are a physical side and tough to play at home, but it’s a great test for this group to try to get a result against the odds in a pretty hostile environment.”

The Reds face the Bulls in Pretoria this Sunday, 17 April, at Loftus Versfeld at 1:05am (AEST). The match will be broadcast live on Fox Sports.

This season sees the return of charitable initiative ‘Be Great, Do Good’, with Reds teammates Cadeyrn Neville and Ben Matwijow wearing unique headgear each week to support different charities by raising funds and awareness for their cause.

The initiative was founded by Reds prop Ben Daley, who will continue to support the charities despite missing four months due to injury.

This week the players will wear headgear in support of the J9 Foundation – which was founded by South African Rugby legend Joost van der Westhuizen to aid those suffering from Motor Neuron Disease, the same form of fatal illness he was diagnosed with in 2011.

St.George Queensland Reds team to play Bulls
1:05am (AEST), Sunday 17 April, Loftus Versfeld
1. James Slipper (C)
2. Andrew Ready
3. Greg Holmes
4. Cadeyrn Neville
5. Ben Matwijow (starting debut)
6. Hendrik Tui
7. Liam Gill
8. Jake Schatz
9. Nick Frisby
10. Jake McIntyre
11. Eto Nabuli
12. Anthony Fainga’a
13. Samu Kerevi
14. Chris Feauai-Sautia
15. Karmichael Hunt

16. Saia Fainga’a
17. Sef Fa’agase
18. Sam Talakai
19. Lukhan Tui (uncapped)
20. Curtis Browning
21. James Tuttle (uncapped)
22. Sam Greene
23. Ayumu Goromaru