Five capped Wallabies will take to the field for the Queensland Reds at the Brisbane Global Rugby Tens in February.
James Slipper, Rob Simmons, Samu Kerevi, Leroy Houston and Chris Latham will all be members of the 26-man Reds squad who will compete at the inaugural Tens tournament.
Latham will return to rugby as a wildcard for the tournament, following his retirement from the sport in 2012. The 41-year-old is a Queensland legend, having appeared for the Reds 117 times, along with his 78 appearances in the gold of the Wallabies.
Flyhalf Quade Cooper is a notably absentee from the squad. The Wallaby will miss the tournament to focus on his boxing preparations – Cooper will fight an unnamed opponent on the undercard for the much-awaited bout between Danny Green and Anthony Mundine.
20 members of the squad boast previous super rugby experience, while Alex Mafi, Izack Rodda, Moses Sorovi, Jayden Ngamanu and league convert Lachlan Maranta will appear in a Reds jersey for the first time.
Reds Coach Nick Stiles said the side are looking forward to getting some match experience under their belt as their pre-season kicks up a notch.
“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.
“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 Reds are in Pool B at the Tens, and will face off against New Zealand teams the Blues and Crusaders as well as Samoa.
Reds 26-man squad
James Slipper, Taniela Tupou, Sef Fa’agase, Sam Talakai, Alex Mafi, Andrew Ready, Rob Simmons, Cadeyrn Neville, Lukhan Tui, Izack Rodda, Michael Gunn, Adam Korczyk, Leroy Houston, James Tuttle, Moses Sorovi, Jake McIntyrem Duncan Paia’aua, Henry Teafu, Samu Kerevi, Eto Nabuli, Lachlan Maranta, Chris Kuridrani, Brad Lacey, Karmichael Hunt, Jayden Ngamanu, Chris Latham (Wildcard).
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