Jock Campbell elevated to Queensland's starting team for ‘Super Round’ battle with Hurricanes
It has been 11 years since the Queensland Reds have beaten the Wellington-based Hurricanes.
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Reds coach Les Kiss has tinkered with a winning combination as Queensland bid to beat the Hurricanes for the first time in 11 years.
Kiss has made one change to the Reds side that started in the Queenslanders’ 40-22 home win over New South Wales last Saturday, with Jock Campbell recalled at the expense of Mac Grealy, who drops to the bench for Sunday’s “Super Round” battle at Melbourne’s AAMI Park.
Campbell, who played at fullback for the Wallabies in 2022, was an unlucky omission from the starting 15 last weekend on the basis of his pre-season form.
“Jock gets his chance this weekend after his brilliant form in the trials,” Kiss said.
“This is an opportunity for me to see him as a winger.
“It’s great to have such riches in the backline. Mac served us very well against the Waratahs with his workrate and edge defence, and he’ll enter the game from the bench at wing or fullback.”
Kiss was aware of the tough task that awaited the Reds on Sunday against a Kiwi outfit they haven’t beaten since an 18-12 win at Suncorp Stadium on March 1, 2013.
“After the Waratahs match, we have been very focused on areas to improve,” the Reds coach said.
“We understand how dangerous the Hurricanes are off turnover ball. You just can’t give them anything easy,” Kiss said.
The Wellington-based Hurricanes also started their Super Rugby Pacific campaign in impressive fashion with a 44-14 win over Western Force in Perth.
Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw warned the Reds that he expected improvement from his team.
“We’re obviously happy with the start we had … but there are areas where we think we can improve, and we want to continue to evolve our defence and attack, so we’re not getting carried away with our performance in the first game,” Laidlaw said.
All Blacks star Jordie Barrett will make his 100th Super Rugby appearance for the Hurricanes on Sunday.
“He’s a proud Hurricane, and we’re super proud of him and how he plays the game,” Laidlaw said.
Reds: Alex Hodgman, Matt Faessler, Zane Nonggorr, Seru Uru, Ryan Smith, Liam Wright, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson, Tate McDermott, Tom Lynagh, Jock Campbell, Hunter Paisami, Josh Flook, Suliasi Vunivalu, Jordan Petaia. Bench: Josh Nasser, Peni Ravai, Sef Fa’agase, Cormac Daly, John Bryant, Kalani Thomas, Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, Mac Grealy
Hurricanes: Xavier Numea, Asafo Aumua, Tyrel Lomax, Caleb Delany, Isaia Walker-Leawere, TK Howden, Peter Lakai, Brayden Iose, Cam Roigard, Brett Cameron, Kini Naholo, Jordie Barrett, Billy Proctor, Josh Moorby, Ruben Love. Bench: James O’Reilly, Pouri Rakete-Stones, Pasilio Tosi, Justin Sangster, Veveni Lasaqa, Jordi Viljoen, Riley Higgins, Salesi Rayasi
Originally published as Jock Campbell elevated to Queensland's starting team for ‘Super Round’ battle with Hurricanes
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