The St.George Queensland Reds have announced their squad for the second edition of the Brisbane Global Rugby Tens, which returns to Suncorp Stadium in a new day-night format this February 9-10.
The Tens will be the Reds’ second pre-season fixture in 2018, but their first against external opposition, following on from their opposed training session at their annual St.George Twilight Fan Day at Ballymore Stadium on Friday 2 February.
Reds head coach Brad Thorn has named a squad featuring some familiar faces, while also rewarding the pre-season efforts of some uncapped members of the wider training squad.
The 26-man squad features 15 players with Super Rugby experience and four capped Wallabies – James Slipper, Kane Douglas, Taniela Tupou and Samu Kerevi, who was today unveiled as the latest Brisbane Global Rugby Tens ambassador and will captain the side at the tournament.
Thorn has also named 11 uncapped players in his squad, providing them an opportunity to push for selection ahead of the Super Rugby season.
Last year’s tournament saw five uncapped players, including recent Wallabies debutant Izack Rodda, feature at the Tens before going on to make their Super Rugby debuts in the 2017 season.
Thorn said: “The Tens provides a good opportunity for the players to put into action what they’ve worked on throughout the pre-season.
“We’ve got three pre-season fixtures this year, we felt it was important to give everyone an opportunity to showcase their skills. It’s a good reward for their hard work.
“Last year’s tournament was fast and physical and provided a good challenge a couple of weeks out from the season. No doubt the guys are looking forward to getting out there in front of our home fans.”
Fans will also have the opportunity to see a number of new players in action against external opposition for the first time, including former Brumbies prop JP Smith and NRC leading try-scorer Filipo Daugunu.
The Reds have been drawn in Pool A, alongside Australian-conference rivals the Melbourne Rebels, the Blues from Auckland and Top League finalists the Panasonic Wild Knights from Japan.
The Reds’ kick off against the Blues at 2:43pm on Friday 9 February, followed by the Rebels at 6:27pm.
Their final pool match is against the Wild Knights at 1:15pm on Saturday 10 February.
This year’s tournament will also feature four women’s teams, after the inaugural event showcased a two-game series between Queensland and New South Wales.
The Queensland women kick off against New South Wales 4:07pm on Friday, followed by the Brumbies at 8:19pm and the Rebels at 4:03pm on Saturday.
The second annual Brisbane Global Rugby Tens is a 12-team tournament, featuring all nine Super Rugby sides from Australia and New Zealand, along with Japan’s Panasonic Wild Knights, a Fijian invitational side and French heavyweights Section Paloise (Pau).
Tickets to upcoming Reds events and Super Rugby memberships are available at www.redsrugby.com.au.
2018 ST.GEORGE QUEENSLAND REDS SQUAD FOR BRISBANE GLOBAL RUGBY TENS
Name
Club
Super Rugby caps
Wallabies caps
Forwards
James Slipper Bond University 95 86
Taniela Tupou Brothers 17 1
Sef Fa'agase University of Queensland 34 -
JP Smith GPS 27 -
Brandon Paenga-Amosa Sunnybank - -
Andrew Ready Easts 27 -
Angus Blyth Bond University - -
Harry Hockings University of Queensland - -
Kane Douglas Norths 90 31
Angus Scott-Young University of Queensland - -
Michael Gunn Easts 8 -
Liam Wright Easts - -
Tai Ford Bond University - -
Reece Hewat Norths 1 -
Backs
James Tuttle GPS 18 -
Moses Sorovi University of Queensland 1 -
Tate McDermott University of Queensland - -
Hamish Stewart Bond University 5 -
Nick Jooste Norths - -
Teti Tela Souths - -
Tony Hunt Norths - -
Samu Kerevi (c) Souths 44 8
Filipo Daugunu Wests - -
Jayden Ngamanu Souths 1 -
Izaia Perese Easts 12 -
Lachlan Maranta Wests 2 -
View the Queensland Women's squad for the Brisbane Global Rugby Tens here.
