St.George Queensland Reds squad for Brisbane Global Rugby Tens
The St.George Queensland Reds have named their 26-man squad for the inaugural Brisbane Global Rugby Tens, which will be the side’s first hit out in 2017.
The squad features five capped Wallabies, 20 players with previous Super Rugby experience and six uncapped Reds squad members. The Wallabies include James Slipper, Rob Simmons, Samu Kerevi, Leroy Houston and wildcard inclusion Chris Latham – a legend of both Queensland and Australian Rugby.
St.George Queensland Reds head coach Nick Stiles said the Reds were looking forward to finally taking the field in a match situation, after months of pre-season training.
“The Tens is an important moment in our pre-season preparations for Super Rugby. Not only is it an opportunity for us to put into action what we’ve been training since last year, but it is also a chance to demonstrate to our fans the hard work we’ve put in to ensure we’re a better side in 2017,” Stiles said.
“We’ve also got a 15-a-side trial match against the Melbourne Rebels two days after the tournament, so we’ve looked at the Tens and that match as two opportunities to give the whole squad some game time before the Super Rugby season starts.
“With the Tens squad, we felt it was important to have a balance of some of our more seasoned players, while also giving the young guys some reward for all their hard work. They’ve been training incredibly hard since the conclusion of last year’s Super Rugby season and now get the chance to showcase what they’re capable of on the field against some seriously tough opposition.”
The St.George Queensland Reds have been drawn in Pool B, alongside the Blues and Crusaders from New Zealand and Samoa.
Their first match will be against the Blues at 12:56 pm on Saturday, followed by the Crusaders at 6:00 pm. Their final pool match will be against Samoa at 10:54 am Sunday morning.
“It’s a difficult pool, but that should benefit us in our pre-season preparations as all three teams are physical and like to move the ball around and that will provide us with a good challenge ahead of Super Rugby,” Stiles said.
The Brisbane Global Rugby Tens features all ten professional franchises from Australia and New Zealand, along with French powerhouse Toulon, Japanese Top League side Panasonic Wild Knights, the Blue Bulls from South Africa and the Samoan national team.
The tournament is one of a number of events in the Reds’ calendar in February.
The month will also see the side host its annual St.George Queensland Reds Fan Day at Ballymore Stadium on Friday 3 February, a pre-season match against the Melbourne Rebels at Ballymore on Tuesday 14 February and their opening Super Rugby match at Suncorp Stadium on Friday 24 February.
Tickets to upcoming Reds events and Super Rugby memberships are available at www.redsrugby.com.au.
St.George Queensland Reds squad for Brisbane Global Rugby Tens
| Forwards | ||
| Name | Super Rugby caps | Wallabies caps |
| James Slipper | 91 | 86 |
| Taniela Tupou | 3 | – |
| Sef Fa’agase | 23 | – |
| Sam Talakai | 27 | – |
| Alex Mafi | – | – |
| Andrew Ready | 19 | – |
| Rob Simmons | 101 | 71 |
| Cadeyrn Neville | 63 | – |
| Lukhan Tui | 4 | – |
| Izack Rodda | – | – |
| Michael Gunn | 8 | – |
| Adam Korczyk | 3 | – |
| Leroy Houston | 48 | 1 |
| Backs | ||
| James Tuttle | 5 | – |
| Moses Sorovi | – | – |
| Jake McIntyre | 16 | – |
| Duncan Paia’aua | 8 | – |
| Henry Teafu | 4 | – |
| Samu Kerevi | 31 | 8 |
| Eto Nabuli | 15 | – |
| Lachlan Maranta | – | – |
| Chris Kuridrani | 14 | – |
| Brad Lacey | – | – |
| Karmichael Hunt | 19 | – |
| Jayden Ngamanu | – | – |
| Chris Latham (wildcard) | 109 | 78 |
Related Posts
« Kaba says right attitude a priority Springbok Sevens in clean sweep on Day One of Wellington Sevens »
