Former NSW utility back Bryce Hegarty to fill the gap for Queensland Reds

The final piece to the Reds’ backline puzzle is due at Ballymore with former NSW Waratahs utility back Bryce Hegarty expected to be training with his new teammates this week.

Bryce Hegarty of the Waratahs passes the ball during the Round 7 Super Rugby match between the Brumbies and the NSW Waratahs at GIO Stadium in Canberra, Saturday, March 31, 2018. (AAP Image/Rohan Thomson) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

The final piece to the Reds’ backline puzzle is due at Ballymore with former NSW Waratahs utility back Bryce Hegarty expected to be training with his new teammates this week.

Hegarty, 26, finished his commitments for the Japanese season last Saturday when his Ricoh Black Rams beat Scott Higginbotham’s NEC Green Rockets 28-17 for ninth spot in the Top League Cup play-offs.

If Hegarty does start training as early as today it will also be confirmation that every minute detail has been ticked on the complicated machinations to have 2017 Wallaby Karmichael Hunt reboot his career with the Waratahs.

It is exactly a month since news first broke of a career lifeline being thrown to Hunt by the Waratahs but there has still been no grand unveiling in Sydney even though he put his Brisbane house on the market weeks ago.

Hegarty’s versatility will be valuable for the Reds. AP Image/Rohan Thomson.

Hunt appearing at Waratahs training this week, after giving the Reds two black eyes with drug-related strikes, would be a new start for him as well.

The Reds are so short on experienced backs that Hegarty’s credentials as a fullback-fly half with 62 Super Rugby appearances for the Melbourne Rebels and Waratahs stamp him as a valuable asset.

More than that, he is a goalkicker and sound kicker in general play, two essential assets that the Reds are largely bereft of.

He shapes as a starter rather than a bench utility, especially since Kiwi backline recruit Matt McGahan is so far behind because he arrived at the Reds with a broken leg before Christmas.

Coach Brad Thorn is already pushing his youthful squad hard or rather he let the army do it for him most recently.

Hegarty can cover a number of positions. Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images.

Last week’s three-day camp at the Kokoda Barracks at Canungra in the Gold Coast hinterland was full of all the sleep deprivation, watery obstacle courses, belly-crawling and teamwork to heighten bonds within the squad.

The Reds play their opening trial against the Rebels in Ballarat on February 1 before their annual Fan Day at Ballymore on February 3 and a final trial against the Chiefs at Ballymore on February 8.

Originally published as Former NSW utility back Bryce Hegarty to fill the gap for Queensland Reds