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Reds and Wallaby centre Samu Kerevi says ex-team mate Quade Cooper is “happy as” playing rugby at club level in Brisbane, as the Reds favoured young flyhalf Hamish Stewart to replace Jono Lance.
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“Quade is obviously a great player. He brings a different type of pace to the game but we are still happy with the guys that we have now,” Kerevi said.
“And Quade is happy as playing for Souths but I know he still has aspirations to play Super Rugby and at test level.
The Reds toppled South Africa’s best team over the last few seasons with a shock 27-22 win at Suncorp on the back of a solid defensive showing and making some plays against the run of play.
“Our tries on the weekend came from our defensive efforts,” he said.
“You saw the driving mauls, you saw the forwards pushing the scrum over – I think that’s where our tries came from.”
Hamish Stewart was handed his first start of the season in the number 10 jersey and showed immediate potential, breaking the line before being brought down a metre short. The Reds scored two phases later.
The young pivot was handed the role after regular starter Jono Lance suffered a concussion against the Chiefs. It appears it will take a catastrophic injury toll for Brad Thorn to consider recalling Quade Cooper to the Reds, with the rookie coach determined to keep his word.
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Under Thorn the Reds have already matched the win totals of 2015 & 2017 and surpassed that of 2016 with seven games remaining, including two against the Sunwolves. They are only one game adrift from the conference-leading Waratahs and could potentially win the conference if they can upset any of the Kiwi teams.
