Samu Kerevi may be one of Super Rugby’s hottest players right now but the Reds captain knows he has his work cut out if Queensland is to pull off an upset against a Test-level Jaguares side.
Kerevi and Chris Feauai-Sautia will reunite in the centres at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night after both missed last week’s clash against the Chiefs in Hamilton.
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While Kerevi was rested under Rugby Australia’s workload management program, Feauai-Sautia is returning from a knee injury and will be tested against the Jaguares’ midfield combination of Matias Orlando and Matias Moroni can cause havoc, while flying winger Ramiro Moyano is among the competition’s leading try-scorers.
“You saw that last week, they’ve got rapid wingers and the centres have been playing well and it’s going to be a big task for Chris and I to lock down that centre combination,” Kerevi said.
“And for us to try to get our front-foot ball and get over that gain line, so it’s going to be really interesting.”
The Reds played an outstanding tight game against the Chiefs, but without Kerevi running the lines he has all season, had few options to spread the ball wide in the final stages when the win was begging.
The captain denies he was annoyed watching on at home in Fiji, although the same can’t be said for his grandmother – a feisty woman in her 80s who “almost breaks down the wall of the house because she’s banging on the wall getting excited”.
“She’s really energetic for someone getting older – but I love that about her,” Kerevi said.
The refreshed captain faces one of his biggest challenges on Saturday night, attempting to topple on of Super Rugby’s powers to help the Reds celebrates a milestone for a favourite son.
“It’s almost a Test side,” Kerevi said of the Jaguares.
“They’ve been playing together for the last couple of years now. They’re a very skillful team, a very hard team to beat and the challenge is what’s exciting about this week.
“You’ve seen them the last couple of years and the last World Cup in the top four being there.
“It’s awesome to see that in Argentina which has been dominated by football, to see that growth of rugby and they’re not going to stop getting better.
“So it’s an awesome challenge for our squad this weekend.”
With former captain Scott Higginbotham playing his 100th game for the Reds, Queensland is determined to do the most it can to notch a win.
And the Reds also want to impress a man likely to be looking on – new recruit Henry Speight, who will join the club next year from the Brumbies.
“I’m really excited for the club and the organisation but I know it wouldn’t be an easy decision for Henry, he’s been awesome for the Brumbies for the last couple of years,” Kerevi said.
“It’s going to be awesome to have him for the club and what he’s going to bring to the club will be nothing short of greatness – he’s going to be chasing that still and he’s been playing really well the last couple of weeks.”
Kerevi said any new signature was a carrot for him but his own future was still undecided.
“Anyone who comes adds value to the club and that’s something that I’ve always looked at the last couple of years is players coming in and out.
“My future will be getting sorted soon and we’ll go from there.”