Versatile Wallaroos veteran Lori Cramer will slot into flyhalf in a revamped Queensland Reds women’s side for Sunday’s high-stakes visit to Sydney.
Only the Reds’ first victory over the NSW Waratahs in Swyftx Super Rugby Women’s will give the determined team a chance at playing finals.
Cramer was back on the field at Reds training at Ballymore on Tuesday night after a whirlwind week in London where she played for the women’s Barbarians against Wales at Twickenham last weekend.
Cramer’s switch from fullback to No.10 is the same move made late last season when her cool control of play was pivotal to two of the Reds’ best wins of the season over the Western Force and Fijian Drua at Ballymore.
Elsewhere in the backline, Australian sevens star Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea will start at outside centre after playing 27 minutes off the bench against the Drua last weekend.
Flyer Charlie Brigstocke has been selected for her Reds debut on the wing. Her two-try audition in the trial against the ACT Brumbies in Canberra in May was a glimpse of her best traits.
In the pack, Head Coach Andrew Fraser has switched captain Jemma Bemrose from the backrow to lock. Wallaroo Dillyn Blackburn comes into the backrow to start.
Off the bench, hooker Ella Hopper will make her Reds debut after beating the ankle injury that disrupted her season.
Experienced trio Tanya Kalounivale, Vineta Teutau and Sarah Riordan will add powerful impact as forwards from the bench.
“Lori is back from a big week away and a huge experience with the Barbarians. She did a good job at No.10 at the back end of last season with the way she controlled things,” Fraser said.
“We are hopeful she’ll be able to free up some of our big ball-runners.
“Alysia showed in her limited minutes last weekend that she has not forgotten anything about XVs rugby,
“She brings physicality and confrontation to the centres and she’ll have a good match-up against Wallaroo Georgie Friedrichs.
“Charlie is a power athlete with real speed and is hard to stop when she gets into space. She showed some good signs in the trials, she trains really well and we are keen to see her in this one.”
Prop Eva Karpani scored a stunning try against the Drua when she skittled defenders and completed it with a miracle one-handed dot-down in the corner with tacklers draped over her.
“I can believe she did that because that's the kind of player that Eva is,” Fraser said.
“She has real X-factor and we are delighted to have her in a Reds jersey against her old club.”
Fraser said selections balanced the game plan and finishing with impact.
“We have some real power to finish the game from the bench with the likes of Vineta, Sarah and Tanya,” Fraser said.
Fraser said the Reds were up for the challenge in Sydney.
“The Western Force have shown it (beating NSW) can be done and we lost to the Force on the bell,” Fraser said.
“We have to beat them. We want to show the resilience we have built since the pre-season with a strong performance.”
Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
4:05pm, Sunday
Watch Live on Stan Sport
1 Hayley Glass – University of Queensland
2 Zophronia Setu - University of Queensland
3 Eva Karpani - Bond University
4 Lucy Thorpe - Bond University
5 Jemma Bemrose (c) - Bond University
6 Zoe Hanna - Bond University
7 Dillyn Blackburn – Wests
8 Tiarna Molloy - Brothers
9 Sarah Dougherty - GPS
10 Lori Cramer – University of Queensland
11 Piper Flynn - Easts
12 Ava Wereta - Bond University
13 Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea - Australian Sevens
14 Charlie Brigstocke* - GPS
15 Harmony Vatau - Sunnybank
16 Ella Hopper* - Brothers
17 Jordan Neal - Brothers
18 Tanya Kalounivale - GPS
19 Vineta Teutau – Brothers
20 Sarah Riordan - Brothers
21 Evie Sampson - Bond University
22 Charity Wightman-Beaven - University of Queensland
23 Briana Dascombe – Easts
*Reds debut
