The Queensland Reds will finish their pre-season preparation ahead of Round 1 of the Buildcorp Super W season, with a trial hit-out against the recently crowned inaugural Australian Club Champions – Bond University.
The match, which will kick off at 10:00am this Sunday at Bond University will see head coach Simon Craig have the chance to test his squad in a match situation one final time before the Reds take on the Rebels in Melbourne next weekend.
Bond, who were the reigning Queensland Premier Rugby Women’s title holders from 2022, defeated Sydney’s Gordon Rugby Club a fortnight ago to claim the inaugural Women’s Australian Club Championship – The Sukkar Cup.
Ahead of the match the Reds have welcomed back three Wallaroos capped players into the squad, including captain Shannon Parry, who has recovered from an ankle injury in the off-season. Lock Annabelle Codey has returned to squad after a stint with Loughborrough Lightning in the UK, while Alana Elisaia has re-joined the team ahead of the season.
‘We’re really keen to have another solid trial run before the season kicks-off,” said Craig.
“We’ve been training hard for a number of months now, but it’s always hard to replicate match fitness and we want to continue to test our systems in a match environment before Round 1.
“The grassroots Rugby community has really played a big part in our preparation for the 2023 season. We had a great his out in Toowoomba the other week with the support of Downs Rugby, and we’re fortunate that Bond were also keen for a match, a big thank you needs to go to both organisations.
“We started our Super W pre-season back in November, this is the last chance for the squad members to put their hand up for selection for Round 1 so I’m keen to see how the team performs tomorrow.”
The match will take place at Bond University Rugby Club on Sunday, 19 March, and will kick-off at 10:00am AEST.
