Six St.George Queensland named for Wallabies Spring Tour

Fri, Oct 8, 2021, 1:45 AM
Reds Media Unit
by Reds Media Unit

Six St.George Queensland Reds have been selected in the Wallabies squad for Australia’s end of year Tour to Japan and the United Kingdom.

James O’Connor, Taniela Tupou, Tate McDermott, Hunter Paisami, Filipo Daugunu and Jordan Petaia will tour, taking on Japan, Scotland, England and Wales.



Fresh off the side’s second place finish in the eToro Rugby Championship, head coach Dave Rennie has selected a familiar squad as well as some European-based Wallabies who will join the group in the UK.

Rugby World Cup squad members from 2019, Rory Arnold and Tolu Latu, will join their fellow French-based forward Will Skelton as new members of the 2021 group. The latter last representing the Wallabies in 2016.



The Wallabies recorded their fourth consecutive win last weekend on the Gold Coast and are again bolstered by the added experience from Japan-based trio Quade Cooper, Samu Kerevi and Sean McMahon, who all feature in the 37-man squad.



Rennie has also named four uncapped players with Waratahs centre Izaia Perese recovering from a shoulder injury to be selected alongside club teammate Lalakai Foketi, Brumbies hooker Connal McInerney and Rebels prop Pone Fa'amausili.



Backs Andrew Kellaway and Len Ikitau will continue their impressive debut International seasons with the side set to face Japan for the first time since 2017, when they meet in Oita later this month before travelling to Europe since 2018.



A number of younger Wallabies will remain in Australia to continue their development and complete full preseasons with their Super Rugby clubs. 



The group will depart from Australia on Wednesday before the first Test of the Tour against the Brave Blossoms in Oita on Saturday October 23.



Wallabies coach Dave Rennie said: “Firstly we're extremely grateful to be able to represent Australia on the world stage in the current environment and that's something that's not lost on this group."



"We've been building as a squad over the past 18 months or so and to get a chance to head to the Northern Hemisphere and test ourselves against four really strong International sides is a great opportunity to learn more about ourselves.



"To have a few experienced players from overseas join us will no doubt help our development as we continue to grow and improve as a team, while those back here in Australia will get a decent offseason to make the necessary shifts in their games to excel at Test level."

Stan Sport will air the Wallabies Test against Japan ad-free, live and on demand on Saturday 23 October.



Wallabies’ fixtures in the 2021 Spring Tour

Japan v Wallabies at Oita Stadium, Oita on Saturday 23 October at 1.45pm JST

Scotland v Wallabies at Murrayfield, Edinburgh on Sunday 7 November at 2.15pm GMT

England v Wallabies at Twickenham, London on Saturday 13 November at 5.30pm GMT

Wales v Wallabies at Principality Stadium, Cardiff on Saturday 20 November at 5.30pm GMT

Wallabies squad for 2021 Spring Tour (Test caps, Club side and age)

Allan Alaalatoa (50, Brumbies, 27)

Rory Arnold (26, Stade Toulousain, 31)

Angus Bell (12, NSW Waratahs, 21)

Quade Cooper (74, Kintetsu Liners, 33)

Filipo Daugunu (6, Queensland Reds, 26)

Pone Fa’amausili* (uncapped, Melbourne Rebels, 24)

Folau Fainga’a (21, Brumbies, 26)

Lalakai Foketi* (uncapped, NSW Waratahs, 26)

Jake Gordon (10, NSW Waratahs, 28)

Reece Hodge (53, Melbourne Rebels, 27)

Michael Hooper (c) (115, NSW Waratahs, 29)

Len Ikitau (9, Brumbies, 23)

Feleti Kaitu’u (3, Western Force, 26)

Andrew Kellaway (9, Melbourne Rebels, 25)

Samu Kerevi (38, Suntory Sungoliath, 28)

Marika Koroibete (42, Melbourne Rebels, 29)

Tolu Latu (19, Stade Francais, 28)

Rob Leota (2, Melbourne Rebels, 24)

Tate McDermott (11, Queensland Reds, 23)

Connal McInerney* (uncapped, Brumbies, 26)

Sean McMahon (27, Suntory Sungoliath, 27)

James O’Connor (57, Queensland Reds, 31)

Hunter Paisami (11, Queensland Reds, 23)

Izaia Perese* (uncapped, NSW Waratahs, 24)

Jordan Petaia (14, Queensland Reds, 21)

Matt Philip (19, Melbourne Rebels, 27)

Tom Robertson (26, Western Force, 26)

Izack Rodda (30, Western Force, 24)

Pete Samu (15, Brumbies, 29)

Will Skelton (18, Stade Rochelais, 29)

James Slipper (110, Brumbies, 32)

Darcy Swain (9, Brumbies, 24)

Lachlan Swinton (6, NSW Waratahs, 24)

Taniela Tupou (35, Queensland Reds, 25)

Rob Valetini (14, Brumbies, 23)

Nic White (43, Brumbies, 31)

Tom Wright (5, Brumbies, 24)

*denotes uncapped

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