Eight Queensland Reds Under 16 talents named in Australia Under 16s squad
Here is an in depth look at Queensland’s top rugby rookies who have been earmarked as future Wallabies.
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Queensland’s up-and-coming Reds players have been honoured with selection in an elite 25-man Australian Under 16s squad set to take on a Pacific All-Stars team on December 12 at the AIS Rugby Field.
Eight players from the Reds were selected after strong campaigns in the Super Rugby Under 16s tournament.
So who are these young guns?
Revealed here.
THE SELECTIONS
Bennett Armistead
What type of player is he: A tall, well built lock.
He bursted onto the scene in the Super Rugby U16s competition and is confirmed as one of the best forwards in his age group after making this prestigious Australian U16s side.
He is a lineout disrupter with plenty of upside.
Berakah Tuifaasisina
What type of player is he: The Ipswich State High School prop powerhouse is a strong runner of the ball with excellent footwork.
He can change direction quickly, is no pushover in the scrum and is jawdropping in the weight room.
We want him to stay in rugby but he is an Ipswich Jets league player as well.
Kiama Jione
What type of player is he: A fearless carrier of the footy and a rib crunching tackler.
A Brothers Sunshine Coast product attending Brisbane Boys’ College, No. 8 Jione thoroughly deserves his spot among this company.
He was consistent as anyone in the Super Rugby U16s competition after making a statement in the Queensland Country U16s side at the Emerging Reds Cup at Ballymore in September.
A future BBC First XV player, Jione is relentless through contact and can go all day.
Kingsley Uys
What type of player is he: A destructive loosehead prop born in Capetown.
Now attending The Southport School learning his trade under champion coach Mike Wallace, the sky is the limit for this 16-year-old.
He is tall, thickly set, with great hands and plenty of speed which makes him a nightmare to tackle.
We named him, a Year 10 student, as starting prop in our GPS Team of the Season.
Liam Robinson
What type of player is he: A rough and tumble hooker out of Nudgee College, a school which seems to churn out elite hookers.
Robinson started his Super Ruby U16s campaign on the bench behind a very good hooker in Keido Goulding, but earned a start in the back-end of the tournament and never looked back.
He throws it in straight, even under windy conditions, and is clinical at the back of a rolling maul.
Nudgee had Australian Schoolboy Oliver Barrett this year and won’t be worse off next year with Robinson coming through.
William Ross
What type of player is he: He is a towering No. 8 who could play anywhere in the backrow.
A Year 10 student at Padua College, Ross has not lost an AIC rugby game in his six seasons playing at the school, and will be a scary sight in the coming years as he grows into his frame.
Finn Mackay
What type of player is he: A calm playmaker with a booming kick and an arsenal full of tricks.
It would come as a surprise to nobody seeing The St Laurence’s College Year 11 student make this squad.
He was close to being the best back in the Super Rugby U16s competition and impressed all with his superb kicking game which was the reason the Reds progressed to the grand final.
The Souths fly half is a special talent, just wait and see.
Treyvon Pritchard
What type of player is he: An exciting outside back with untapped potential.
Pritchard, born in New Zealand and of African heritage, is a hot-stepper who attends Churchie, having made the move from St Peters Lutheran College earlier in the year.
He returned from an injury halfway through the tournament and made up for lost time scoring a scintillating solo try against the Rebels.
His older brother Kadin, 19, was a schoolboy prodigy who is in the Brumbies system and the scary thing is Treyvon is just as good as Kadin was at the same age - if not better.
Footnote: Electric Nudgee College winger Nicholas Conway, who made his First XV debut this year with a four try effort, was unavailable for selection because of a knee injury.
Conway, the son of ex-broncos player and Nudgee old boy Bob, looked promising in the Reds first game and is a black book talent signed by the club.
Australia U16s 2023 Squad
Forwards
Bennett Armistead, Reds
Berakah Tuifaasisina, Reds
Daryus Sione, Waratahs
Ed Baxter, Waratahs
James Finegan, Waratahs
Jarvis Orr, Waratahs
Justice Taumoepeau, Waratahs
Kiama Jione, Reds
Kingsley Uys, Reds
Lewis Wilson, Waratahs
Liam Robinson, Reds
Marcus Mastro, Waratahs
Louis Treacy, Rebels
Will Ross, Reds
Backs
Angus Grover, Waratahs
Cameron Kirsten, Brumbies
Denzel Veikune, Brumbies
Finn Mackay, Reds
Heamasi Makasini, Waratahs
Liam Collett, Brumbies
Onitoni Large, Waratahs
Peni Naqau, Force
Rex Bassingthwaighte, Waratahs
Tom Hartman, Waratahs
Treyvon Pritchard, Reds
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