With Lachie Turner set to face Waratahs for first time we look back at other border jumpers

OVER the border – crossing the Tweed. Lachie Turner isn’t the first rugby player to trade blue for red or Brisbane for Sydney.

Latham (L) made his name in Queensland while Sailor’s fell apart in NSW.

OVER the border – crossing the Tweed. Lachie Turner’s first interstate match with former franchise the Waratahs has revived memories of some of the great, and not so great, QLD-NSW swaps in Super Rugby history.

Once a flying winger and fan favourite in Sydney, Turner made the call to join the Reds towards the end of last season after two injury-interrupted years at the Waratahs.

There was also the threat of rising wingers Peter Betham, Cam Crawford and now Alofa Alofa.

Fully fit, Turner would have been right in the mix to win back his spot on the wing. But after a superb Reds debut that featured a five-pointer and a wonderful try-saving tackle on Jesse Mogg, his move to Brisbane looks to be a masterstroke.

So with Australian rugby’s fiercest interstate rivalry set to explode again on Saturday night we’ve looked back across the 19 seasons of Super Rugby and found a few others who’ve boarded a plane for Brisbane or set sail for Sydney.

Some found fame and fortune while others hit rock bottom.

Waratahs to Reds

Beau Robinson

Unmistakable for his scraggy blond mane, Beau Robinson’s feisty game won plenty of fans in his three seasons at the Waratahs. It just so happened he was stuck behind NSW and Wallaby great Phil Waugh, meaning many of his caps were won off the bench. However in 2007 Waugh suffered a knee injury, allowing Robinson a string of run-on appearances. Fast Forward to 2011 and, with former Tahs coach Ewen McKenzie now at the Reds, Robinson rolled the dice and made the move to Brisbane. The result? A Super Rugby title.

Beau Robinson has every right to be angry at NSW, he was stuck behind Phil Waugh.

Morgan Turinui

A stalwart of the Waratahs midfield between 2003 and 2007, Morgan Turinui traded blue for red in 2008 after both parties mutually agreed to part ways. As it turned out his Waratahs coach at that time, Ewen McKenzie, then turned up at Ballymore in 2010 after Turinui had missed much of the previous two seasons with injury. He finished with just five Reds caps in three seasons before making the move to France’s Top 14.

Turinui’s time in Queensland waa dogged by injury.

Chris Siale

A fringe player with the Waratahs between 2004 and 2007, Chris Siale followed Turunui’s lead and moved to Queensland in the hope of more playing time. But, just like his former Tahs teammate, Siale made little impact at Ballymore and finished with just the five appearances in 2008.

Lachie Turner

If Saturday night’s performance in Canberra is anything to go by Lachie Turner is set for a superb stint with the Reds. A schoolboy sensation with Newington College in Sydney, Turner made his Super Rugby debut against the Stormers in 2007 but it was a brilliant solo try a few weeks later against the Crusaders that announced his arrival on the Australian rugby scene. Turner went on to win 71 caps for the Waratahs before a severe hamstring injury and a broken leg ended his 2012 and 2013 seasons respectively, and subsequently his NSW career.

Turner had a dream debut for the Reds last weekend.

Chris Latham

Arguably rugby’s greatest state-swapper of all time, Chris Latham became a cult figure over 10 glorious years at the Reds. From joining the push-up team beneath the Ballymore hill to drawing the ire of every old-school rugby aficionado for the way he wore his socks, Latham adopted Queensland to the core. The Narrabri-born fullback had played 10 games for the Waratahs before he moved to Queensland but after settling in the sunshine state he never looked back.

QLD to NSW

Nathan Grey

Just as Latham was finding a home at Ballymore a Queenslander by the name of Nathan Grey was making his mark from the NSW Waratahs midfield. Stuck behind the likes of Tim Horan and Jason Little in Brisbane, Grey made the move to Sydney after representing Queensland against the touring French in 2007. A ball-running centre who boasted a notoriously brutal defensive game, Grey became an automatic selection at No.12 for the Waratahs between 1998 and 2005.

Grey was snapped up by NSW after playing just two games for QLD.

Jason Little

It seems almost unthinkable that Jason Little could have donned a blue jersey after such a storied career alongside Tim Horan in the Reds midfield. However the emergence of Daniel Herbert meant Little was forced to look for greener pastures, bringing him to Sydney in 2009. The 75-Test veteran would go on to play 15 matches for the Waratahs but failed to defeat his former side in either 1999 or 2000.

Wendell Sailor

Reds fans let Sailor have it in 2006.

Every inch a Queenslander, Wendell Sailor stunned the Australian sporting community when he announced a switch to the Waratahs for the 2006 Super Rugby season. And as fate would have it the Waratahs’ first match was a trip to Suncorp Stadium to face the Reds, who’d run a “Boo Wendell” campaign over the pre-season. The promotion certainly drew a response from a parochial crowd but Sailor would have the last laugh as the Waratahs triumphed 16-12. His Waratahs career lasted just seven more matches however after he returned a positive test for cocaine.

The Big Dell used the crowd abuse to fire himself up.

Drew Mitchell

He may be off enjoying some quality time with good mate Matt Giteau in Toulon but Drew Mitchell will no doubt keep an eye on this weekend’s result after playing for both the Reds and Waratahs. However, unlike the other players on this esteemed list, Mitchell also added a stint across the Nullabor to his Super Rugby resume. The 63-Test Wallabies winger made 112 Super Rugby appearances in all, but his best rugby was played at the Waratahs where he scored 17 tries between 2010 and 2013.

Berrick Barnes

Barnes departed QLD just as the revival began.

Growing up in the Queensland country town of Kingaroy, Berrick Barnes would have been instructed to hate everything NSW, particularly around State of Origin time. But after enduring three disastrous seasons with the Reds, Barnes was tempted to Sydney by then-Waratahs coach Chris Hickey. Two years later the Reds won the Super Rugby title while Barnes’s best finish with the Waratahs were playoff appearances in 2010 and 2011. Such is life.