QR Reds captain James Horwill open to positional switch
A week after switching Wallaby winger Peter Hynes to fullback, QR Reds coach Ewen McKenzie has sprung a surprise in the forwards by naming lock and captain James Horwill as a backrower for Friday’s trial match in Perth against the Western Force.
The coach is leaving no stone unturned as he looks to mix and match his combinations to find the best lineup for the start of the Investec Bank Super 14 season on February 13.
The decision to trial Horwill in the number six jersey is aimed at giving the Wallaby lock the opportunity to make more of an impact in games.
“I’ve been really impressed with his athleticism and power, and by putting him at six gives us a chance to get him more involved,” McKenzie said.
“If he doesn’t have such a large workload at scrum-time it gives him more opportunity to carry the ball and do other things.
“Obviously he is not attuned to that position but that doesn’t mean he can’t learn. We’ve seen plenty of examples of players at test level and below taking on new positions in a short space of time, so this is just an experiment.
“It might work well, it might not. But it certainly gives us options around lineouts and gives us a few other bits and pieces which will be interesting.”
Despite having earned 24 caps for the Wallabies at lock, Horwill is open to the challenge.
“Whatever can be the best fit for the team is where I’m happy to play,” Horwill said.
“(The biggest difference) is probably at the scrums and where you need to be in the defensive line. That is the main thing I’ve noticed but I probably won’t know fully until I play a game. The best opportunity to do it is in a trial game so we can see how things pan out.”
Queensland’s other Wallabies Quade Cooper, Digby Ioane and Will Genia will all start on Friday night. Genia has already made a dynamic 20 minute cameo off the bench this year, while Ioane and Cooper are getting their first hit-out.
With Ioane named at outside centre, former Melbourne Storm premiership winning centre Will Chambers will play in the QAS Reds 2nd XV game against the Australian Barbarians at Ballymore on Saturday night.
McKenzie said he opted to play Chambers in the 2nd XV match to ensure he received ample game time ahead of the season, with Chambers having played just 60 minutes of rugby since making the switch from league.
He was initially named in the club’s first trial against the Waratahs but a lower back injury forced him to withdraw.
Last season NRL recruit Mark McLinden underwent a similar transition, with the former Canberra Raider star playing in a 2nd XV trial before working his way into the starting lineup a fortnight into the season.
“Rather than change Will Chambers to another position and make the whole transition more confusing, we’ve chosen to leave him at 13 and play him in the A game so he gets 80 minutes of rugby. That is the best thing for him at this time,” McKenzie said.
QR Reds team to play the Western Force at Members Equity Stadium Perth on Friday night (from fullback): Peter Hynes, Luke Morahan, Digby Ioane, Anthony Faingaa, Rod Davies, Quade Cooper, Will Genia (vc), Ezra Taylor, Daniel Braid, James Horwill (c), Van Humphries, Adam Byrnes, Laurie Weeks, James Hanson, Greg Holmes. Reserves: Ben Daley, Sean Hardman, James Slipper, Robert Simmons, Scott Higginbotham, Richard Kingi, Ben Lucas, Morgan Turinui, Blair Connor.
Admission and parking for this Saturday night's match at Ballymore between the QAS Reds 2nd XV and the Australian Barbarians will be free. Kickoff is at 7.30pm.
The teams are:
QAS Reds 2nd XV (from fullback): Aidan Toua (Easts), Brando Va'aulu (University), Will Chambers (TBC), Ben Tapuai (Sunnybank), Paul Doneley (Brothers), Tim Walsh (TBC), Brent Hamlin (Souths), Jake Schatz (Sunnybank), Lei Tomiki (TBC), Andrew Shaw (Brothers), Liam Shaw (Brothers), Adam Preocanin (Easts), Dayna Edwards (Sunnybank), Saia Faingaa (Souths), Albert Anae (Sunnybank). Reserves: Heath Tessman (University), David Feao (Souths), Pat Ritchie (Eats), Cameron Bracewell (Gold Coast), Liam Gill (Sunnybank), Sam Grasso (Brothers), Jono Lance (University), Dallan Murphy (Brothers).
Australian Barbarians (from fullback) Thomas Cox (Sunshine Coast), Rex Tapuai (Sunnybank), James Harvey (Brothers), Nathanuel Gendle (Brothers), Nicky Price (Brothers), Michael Zovko (Souths), Sam Batty (Country), Paula Kaho (Souths), Chris Johnson (Souths), Martin Collins (Gold Coast), Tom Murday (Sunnybank), Rubin Fuimaono (Gold Coast), Adrian Dixon (Brothers), Andrew Coady (Brothers), Cole Mooney (Gold Coast). Reserves: Ryan Schultz, (Norths), Sam Cummins (Easts), Brett Nayler (GPS), Geoff Ingram (GPS), Mitch Francis (Gold Coast), Ian Prior (University), Fred Tuua (Souths), Ian Aokuso (Wests)
Referee: Simon Moore
