Queensland prop Ben Daley has recovered from injury and will start in the Reds front row in Sunday’s Super rugby clash against the pace setting Chiefs at Suncorp Stadium.
Daley missed the Reds’ 15-11 loss to the Crusaders last weekend with a hamstring strain but has been cleared for the crucial Mother’s Day encounter, replacing Greg Holmes at loose-head after some scrum turbulence in Christchurch.
The only other change in Queensland’s 22 is on the bench where flanker Beau Robinson has made a speedy return from an ankle injury to displace out-of-form Wallabies cult hero Radike Samo.
For only the second time this season the defending champions will field the same starting backline in a major boost to their hopes of an upset.
“We’ve worked our way through a difficult period of injuries and are now seeing the benefit of cohesion in our selections and with combinations out on the field,” said coach Ewen McKenzie.
“You can sense a huge lift in the confidence and intensity of our play following the return of a number of players and they will only continue to play better the more they get the opportunity to play alongside one another.”
Queensland Reds: Luke Morahan, Dom Shipperley, Anthony Faingaa, Mike Harris, Digby Ioane, Ben Lucas, Will Genia; Scott Higginbotham, Liam Gill, Jake Schatz, James Horwill (capt), Rob Simmons, James Slipper, James Hanson, Ben Daley. Reserves: Saia Faingaa, Greg Holmes, Adam Wallace-Harrison, Beau Robinson, Eddie Quirk, Nick Frisby, Rod Davies.