Reds to host two Super Rugby warms up at Ballymore

Queensland Super Rugby franchise the Reds have announced that they will play back to back Super Rugby warm up matches at Ballymore in 2016

The Reds will play seven-time Super Rugby champions the Crusaders and Australian rivals the Brumbies.

This will be the second time the Reds have hosted the Crusaders at Ballymore in as many years, with the 2014 pre-season fixture drawing a passionate crowd of 11,270.

They will face 2015 semi-finalists the Brumbies the following week, on Friday 12 February.

Queensland Rugby Executive General Manager Reds, Daniel Herbert, said,”These pre-season matches are a good opportunity for both the Reds and our fans.

“It will be good for our squad to get a gauge against high quality Australian and New Zealand opposition.

“It’s good for the fans too, who get to watch the Reds play two teams we don’t play at home in the 2016 Super Rugby season.”

The rivalry between the Reds and Brumbies is one of the fiercest in Australian Rugby. The Brumbies had the wood on their Queensland rivals in the 2015 Super Rugby season recording a 47-3 victory in round one, followed by a 29-0 win in round five.

The trial match on 12 February will be the Brumbies second pre-season fixture of 2016. The first will be a blockbuster against the NSW Waratahs in Wagga Wagga on 6 February.

The two trials will give the Brumbies Rugby World Cup stars a chance to gain some valuable match time ahead of the 2016 Super Rugby season. David Pocock, Scott Fardy, Wallabies skipper Stephen Moore and Tevita Kuridrani are among the Brumbies stars who begin pre-season training for the Brumbies in January.

It will also give Australian Rugby fans the opportunity to see Argentinian scrumhalf Tomas Cubelli in action in Brumbies colours for the first time. Cubelli has linked with the Brumbies on a two-year deal after a number of starring performances for Los Pumas in The Rugby Championship and 2015 RWC.

Brumbies players who did not feature at the RWC are currently training in Canberra and will have a brief break over Christmas before returning as a full squad on 4 January.