Qld to tour Ireland
Queensland will undertake a four match, 17 day rugby development tour of Ireland in August-September to prepare players for next year's Investec Super 14 season.
A squad of 26 players will leave on August 19, two days after the Trinity Premier Rugby Grand Final, and play matches against Ulster, Connacht, Leinster and Munster A.
QRU Performance Rugby Manager Ben Whitaker said with no provincial rugby championship to follow the Premier Rugby season this year there was a need to provide QR Reds players and those knocking on the door of selection with an opportunity to test their skills at a more competitive level.
"The younger Queensland players especially will learn a lot from this tour, as the Irish provinces will be gearing up for the European championship season and want some hard matches to fine tune their own combinations," Whitaker said.
“The Irish clubs are pretty excited about us touring there. When they heard we were looking at an end of season tour they were straight on the phone to ask how they could help make it happen and they’ve assisted generously in that regard,” Whitaker said.
Whitaker said the Queensland squad would be named closer to the departure date, but will include 2009 contracted Reds not involved with the Wallabies, QAS Reds Academy players and potentially some uncontracted Premier players.
"It will be a chance for our coaching staff to take a closer look at how the newer players and combinations work in games, without having to do it during the cut-throat Super 14 competition," he said.
The squad will spend most time in Dublin, travelling by train to Belfast, Galway and Limerick for games against Ulster, Connacht and Munster A.
The itinerary is:
Tuesday, Aug 19 - depart Brisbane for Dublin
Thursday, Aug 21 - train to Belfast
Friday, Aug 22 - Match v Ulster
Saturday, Aug 23 - return to Dublin
Monday, Aug 25 - train to Galway
Tuesday, Aug 26 - Match v Connacht
Wednesday, Aug 27 - return to Dublin
Saturday, Aug 30 - Match v Leinster
Tuesday, Sept 2 - train to Limerick
Wednesday, Sept 3 - Match v Munster A
Thursday, Sept 4 - return to Dublin, fly to Brisbane
