The Queensland Reds will get an immediate test of their much-vaunted squad depth after being hit by a triple injury blow ahead of Saturday night’s clash with Western Force in Brisbane.
The Super Rugby champions have lost Wallabies duo Anthony Faingaa (hamstring) and Scott Higginbotham (buttock) through minor training injuries while rookie prop Albert Anae has been forced to make an unlikely run-on debut at hooker.
Anae will start in the No.2 jersey against the imposing Force pack with neither of Queensland’s specialist rakes, James Hanson and Saia Faingaa, able to properly overcome ankle strains.
Reds coach Ewen McKenzie on Thursday admitted he could have risked his incumbents but had no hesitation in backing his reserves in making five positional changes.
“It’s not the right time of the season sending blokes out there carrying injuries when we don’t have to,” he said. “We don’t want a one-week injury turning into a one-month injury.
“We like our depth and it was a good chance to make an early call.”
McKenzie loses nothing in his back-row with Higginbotham replaced by fellow Test forward Radike Samo, while utility back Jono Lance has been promoted to start at inside centre alongside long-time midfield partner Ben Tapuai.
A key contributor in the thrilling 25-21 win over NSW, Tapuai takes Anthony Faingaa’s No.13 jersey and will rekindle a partnership with Lance that dates back to 2006 at The Southport School (TSS) on the Gold Coast.
The pair also played with fellow Reds James Slipper, Rob Simmons and Luke Morahan for TSS, under the tutelage of Queensland defence coach Matt Taylor, to win the 2007 GPS premiership.
“We’ve played a lot of footy together,” Lance said of Tapuai. “Since school, we’ve played together for the last five to six years.
“It’s very exciting to play with him in the midfield for the Reds.”
The son of former Canberra Raiders captain Dean Lance, he played fullback in last year’s final triumph over the Crusaders and was a contender for Quade Cooper’s No.10 jersey in the pre-season before trialling in the midfield.
Anae, 22, will be under most heat, having registered just 11 minutes of Super Rugby action last year as a reserve prop, and being thrown in against a Force lineout led by veteran Wallabies lock Nathan Sharpe.
But McKenzie is a big fan of the former Australian under-20 loose-head who has adapted well to hooker.
“Albie has been doing this for some time now and we were experimenting in pre-season last year,” he said.
“I always get excited about seeing the next guy. We try and recruit guys we think can be Wallabies and, when you put them on the field, I always like to look ahead and imagine him running out for his country.”
