St.George Queensland Reds head coach Rama Chand has today confirmed his match-day-23 for the side’s Round 3 Buildcorp Super W clash against the President’s XV in Coffs Harbour on Wednesday, 29.
Six changes have been made to the starting XV that ran out against the Melbourne Rebels on Sunday, with a number of players returning to the fold from the reserves or other representative duties.
In the front-row, Wests duo Tiarna Molloy and Bree-Anna Cheatham will return to the starting line-up alongside Christina Sekona, while April Ngatupuna will start at Number 8 after scoring the match winning try against the Rebels.
In the backs, young-gun scrumhalf Destiny Brill returns to the side for the first time in 2021, after starting for Queensland in their State of Origin win on Friday night on the Sunshine Coast, seeing her former Marsden State High School teacher Cobie-Jane Morgan shift to flyhalf.
Bond University product Diaz Seumanutafa will form a new centre combination with her Bond teammate Melanie Wilks, while Emily Bass has returned to the squad on the wing after taking part in the Oceania Sevens in Townsville.
In the reserves, former Wallaroos captain Liz Patu will make her return from injury, adding further experience to the squad for their must win clash.
“This match is crucial for us,” said Chand.
“After a loss against NSW and a narrow win over the Rebels, we need to ensure we put in a solid performance against the President’s XV to secure our best possible position on the competition ladder.
“We’ve named arguably our strongest team for tomorrow’s clash, we have a great mix of young talent who have been performing, as well as some experienced heads in the starting side as well as the reserves.
“It’s great to welcome back Destiny (Brill) and Emily (Bass) from other representative duties, they’ll add plenty of fire power to our backline, while Liz Patu’s return is timely as she brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the line-up. She’s worked hard to overcome an injury to get back for this match and she’ll be hungry for an opportunity.
“There are a few Queensland players in the President’s XV side that we know very well, and we have a hard task ahead of us after they put away the Brumbies on Sunday.”
The St.George Queensland Reds clash against the President’s XV kicks off tomorrow afternoon at 1:00pm at C.EX Coffs International Stadium and will be broadcast LIVE and ad free on Stan Sport.
