St.George Queensland Reds sign three promising young backs
The Queensland Rugby Union has secured the services of three promising young backs, with Duncan Paia’aua, Izaia Perese and Hamish Stewart all committing to the St.George Queensland Reds through 2019.
Paia’aua (22), now in his third season with the club, has established himself as the Reds’ starting inside center in 2017. The Rockhampton-raised product returned to Rugby in late 2014 and has since established himself as a regular starter, having played the most minutes of any Reds player so far this year.
Perese (20) is in his first year of Super Rugby, having made his debut in Round 2. The winger featured in 10 games for the Reds this season before heading to Georgia with the Australian Under the 20s, where he has been one of the national team’s key attacking threats, scoring a hat-trick in their recent win over Italy.
Flyhalf Stewart (19) also made his debut earlier this season, after leading the Queensland Under the 20s to an undefeated national title. While still in the early stages of his development, he has already earned three caps for the Reds and is currently representing the Australian Under the 20s at the World Rugby U20 Championship in Georgia.
Reds head coach Nick Stiles said: “It’s great to be able to confirm the signing of three promising young players who we believe have big roles to play in the future success of Queensland Rugby.
“It’s been a difficult year for the Reds on the field, but we’ve certainly seen plenty of growth and development within the playing group, with guys like Duncan, Izaia and Hamish stepping up at Super Rugby level and others within our group like young lock Lukhan Tui getting an opportunity within the Wallabies squad for the June Test series.
“While the ultimate goal of the program is sustained on-field success now and in the future, the development of the playing group is the building block for that. To see the development of these players from within our pathway is very rewarding for all involved at Queensland Rugby.”
Duncan Paia’aua
Position: Centre
Height: 180cm
Weight: 91kg
DOB: 20/01/1995 (22)
POB: Wellington, New Zealand
School: Emmaus College Rockhampton
Club: Norths
Representative honors: Queensland Under 16s, Queensland U20s (2015), Australian U20s (2015), Queensland Country NRC (2014-), Queensland (2015-)
Super Rugby debut: 2015 v Brumbies at Canberra Stadium, Canberra
Super Rugby caps: 21
Super Rugby Points: 15 (3T)
Izaia Perese
Position: Outside back
Height: 180cm
Weight: 91kg
DOB: 17/05/1997 (20)
POB: Brisbane, QLD
School: Anglican Church Grammar School
Club: Easts
Representative honors: Queensland U16s (2013), Queensland Schoolboys (2014), Australian Schoolboys (2014), Queensland U20s (2015), Reds Elite Development Squad (2015), Queensland Country (2015-2016), Wallabies development player (2016), Australian U20s (2017), Queensland (2017-)
Super Rugby debut: 2017 v Western Force at nib Stadium, Perth
Super Rugby caps: 10
Super Rugby Points: 15 (3T)
Hamish Stewart
Position: Flyhalf
Height: 180cm
Weight: 87kg
Date of birth: 03/03/98 (19)
Place of birth: Toowoomba, QLD
School: Toowoomba Grammar School
Club: Bond University
Representative honors: Australian Schoolboys Barbarians (2015), Queensland Schoolboys (2015), Queensland U20s (2017), Australian Under the 20s (2017), Queensland (2017-)
Super Rugby debut: 2017 v Brumbies at Canberra Stadium, Canberra
Super Rugby caps: 3
ENDS
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