Reds coach Richard Graham wasted no time in rushing back a number of Wallaby stars, when he named his side to take on the Emirates Lions in Brisbane on Friday.
There are 6 players returning from injury for the clash.
Quade Cooper, James O’Connor, Samu Kerevi and Lachie Turner will make their return from injury in the starting backline – while props Greg Holmes and Ben Daley have been named on the reserves bench.
Graham commended the players for their efforts since returning from the BYE and said he was pleased to have a selection headache for this week’s match.
“As a consequence of not only availability, but also training quality, Greg Holmes, Ben Daley, Quade Cooper, Samu Kerevi, Lachie Turner and James O’Connor have all pushed their way into this week’s 23-man squad,” he said.
“Getting the balance right between selecting 1st and 2nd game players with the more match hardened was a strong consideration in selection of the team.
“Next week and the week after will add similar pressures, with more players expected to return from injury, but it is what we have been wanting and it’ll only create a more competitive environment that ultimately benefits the team.”
In addition to those changes, Reds elite development squad member Michael Gunn has the potential to make his Super Rugby debut after being named as a reserve flank.
“Michael stands to be the 12th player to make his debut for the Reds this season and it’s great to be able to continue to demonstrate the strength of our pathways in Queensland,” Graham said.
“A number of players were rewarded with spots in our program at the end of the National Rugby Championship and they have all contributed a lot to the team environment over a number of months.”
Graham said while the team had enjoyed the BYE, their energy at training this week showed they were ready to get back on the field.
“The group have benefitted from a short mental and physical break and are looking forward to starting the next run of games beginning with the Lions at Suncorp on Friday evening,” he said.
“Since returning to training last Thursday the squad have had the added benefit of a number of players returning to full training. It has added spark to the training environment and we expect to see the by-product of that through our performance.
“Each player is accountable for their role and if we can bring that together we’ll get the team performance we are wanting. There is little time to build combinations and concern ourselves with the changes we’ve implemented this week. It is about getting out there and performing strongly as a squad.
“I have been impressed by the Lions’ creativity and determination. They did well last week to overcome the Rebels in the last few minutes and we understand the need to be disciplined to our strategy for the entire match.”
Reds: 15 Lachie Turner, 14 Chris Kuridrani, 13 Samu Kerevi, 12 Anthony Fainga’a, 11 James O’Connor, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Jake Schatz, 7 Curtis Browning, 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Dave McDuling, 4 James Horwill, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 James Hanson, 1 James Slipper (Captain)
Replacements: 16 Saia Fainga’a, 17 Ben Daley, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Marco Kotze, 20 Michael Gunn, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Ben Tapuai, 23 Chris Feauai-Sautia.
Date: Friday 27 March
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-Off: 11:00 SA Time (19:00 Brisbane Time, 20:00 AEDT, 09:00 GMT)
Referee: Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Rohan Hoffmann (Australia), Will Houston (Australia)
TMO: James Leckie (Australia)