Chris Feauai-Sautia out of Reds’ Super Rugby match against Lions due to hamstring soreness

HARD-RUNNING Reds centre Chris Feauai-Sautia is a scratching from the must-win Super Rugby clash against the Lions in Johannesburg.

Reds centre Chris Feauai-Sautia is out of the clash with the Lions due to hamstring soreness.

THE hamstring curse that has again struck Chris Feauai-Sautia is a fact of life he will have to deal with every step to next year’s Rugby World Cup.

Reds coach Richard Graham took the cautious approach on Wednesday when his bulldozing centre woke in Johannesburg with hamstring soreness.

Plans were immediately made to fly Feauai-Sautia home for scans and find a replacement for the clash against the Lions on Sunday morning (Queensland time).

The Reds are fortunate they can slot Wallaby Ben Tapuai into outside centre and promote abrasive Anthony Faingaa to the bench.

News_Image_File: Feauai-Sautia charges into the Sharks defence at Kings Park in Durban last weekend.

Graham was so confident yoga, stretching and diligent body rebalancing had tamed Feauai-Sautia’s fickle hamstrings that the 20-year-old centre was used for the full 80 minutes against the Sharks last weekend.

“He was strong too, with the break and offload leading up to Will Genia’s try,” Graham said.

“This is frustrating for Chris. The best thing is to fly him home for scans and treatment because it appears to be a short-term thing.”

Feauai-Sautia missed Australian Schoolboys internationals against New Zealand and England in his final year at Brisbane State High in 2011 when his hamstring history was already a worry.

News_Rich_Media: Reds centre Mike Harris says he's desperate to make amends for a couple of critical errors in last week's loss to the Sharks when his side takes on Super Rugby surprise packets the Lions this weekend.

Prop Ben Daley has aleady returned home early from South Africa for scans which revealed a knee ligament strain that will sideline him for six weeks.

Beating the revitalised Lions is imperative for the Reds so they arrive home in Brisbane with the right springboard into three home games.

“It was a draining day in Durban last weekend but there has been a big accent on recovery and hydrating to make sure all tanks are full for a really important game,’’ Graham said.

“We need to win to justify our own expectations as a team and get a really good launch into a run of home games ahead.”