St.George Queensland Reds to renew old rivalry first up at Brisbane Global Rugby Tens
The St.George Queensland Reds will resume a rivalry which dates back to the formative days of Super Rugby when they take on the Blues in their first match of the Brisbane Global Rugby Tens at Suncorp Stadium on February 11.
The Reds-Blues rivalry harks back to the early 1990s when Auckland and Queensland were the teams to beat in the Super 6 and Super 10 competitions.
Drawn in what looks to be the most challenging pool, the Reds round out a rugged first day with a second round match against the Crusaders at 6:00pm.
That contest is a rematch between the clubs that contested the 2011 Super Rugby final at Suncorp Stadium.
The Reds’ final pool match will be against Samoa on Day Two at 11:22am.
“It doesn’t get any tougher,” St George Queensland Reds head coach Nick Stiles said. “You’ve got Crusaders, Samoa and Blues, three teams who will play very physical and expansive rugby, so the good thing for us is it will really test us and that’s good preparation for the 2017 Super Rugby season.
“We’ve got quite a few players away with the Wallabies and in Japan so we’ll wait until we’re in the thick of pre-season before we decide on the squad for the tournament, but it will be a great opportunity for guys to get some match conditioning in before Super Rugby.”
Reds fullback Karmichael Hunt is excited by the challenge that awaits the team.
“We’re excited to be playing a couple of teams from New Zealand, but also the Samoan boys, I think they’ll have a lot of support in Brisbane,” Hunt said. “They’re really going to stand up and make a go of it, so I’m looking forward to it.
“It’s a great lead-in to the Super season. To have the international teams come join us for this tens comp is going to be fantastic. Brissy has a great concept on its hands.”
Initially, all eyes will be on the Chiefs and Rebels as 13 of the game’s best club teams plus the Samoan national team come together for the world’s premier club rugby tournament.
The inaugural tournament kicks off with the Chiefs taking on the Melbourne Rebels at midday on Saturday.
“There’ll certainly be no waiting around wondering what it is going to be like,” Chiefs fullback Damian McKenzie said. “We’ll get the chance to crack straight into it. That’s awesome.”
Featuring a similar structure to the 15-a-side game but with more space on the field for players to showcase their skills, Tens rugby is the perfect format for what will be a hugely entertaining launch of the rugby season in Brisbane for at least the next four years.
“I can’t wait to get over there and get stuck into it,” McKenzie said. “With so many great teams and great players involved it is going to be incredible.”
Other marquee matchups on Day One include the 2016 Super Rugby champions the Hurricanes taking on the 2015 champion Highlanders in a crossover match between pools C and D; the wildcard Panasonic Wild Knights of Japan taking their bow against the Waratahs in the second match of the tournament; and a clash between the Blues and Samoa late in day.
Day Two begins with the first all-Australia match-up between the Rebels and Waratahs at 10:00am and what is sure to be a keenly contested Kiwi derby between fierce rivals the Blues and Crusaders.
Knockout play begins with the first quarterfinal at 12:48pm and ends with the grand final at 5:40pm.
The luck of the draw has handed the Brumbies and Force the major challenge of playing all three of their pool games on Day One. However, should they qualify out of their respective pools, they will be rewarded by heading into knockout playfully refreshed.
“It’s really exciting to have the schedule locked in so fans can see exactly when their teams will be playing and who they will be playing against,” tournament director Bryn Skilbeck said.
“The draw has certainly thrown together some mouth-watering match-ups, which we know fans will already be looking forward to.
“With any draw tournament of this nature – when teams play a lot of matches in a short period of time – there are always challenges. In this case, the biggest challenge was ensuring teams had adequate rest periods between matches. We’ve been able to achieve that, which we are very happy about.
“The feedback from the clubs has been extremely positive. They are telling us they can’t wait to get stuck into the tournament and will be giving it everything to make a bit of history by winning the first ever Brisbane Global Rugby Tens title.”
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