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'We've been playing together since high school' - Kerevi hoping Reds' centre pairing will flourish

Chris Feauai-Sautia passes the ball to Samu Kerevi. Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Samu Kerevi believes his passing game can flourish alongside longtime friend Chris Feauai-Sautia in the Queensland Reds midfield in 2019.

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The pair started for the Reds but were kept under wraps in a 21-19 preseason loss to the Chiefs at Ballymore on Friday night.

Kerevi and Feauai-Sautia offer similar styles of play and look set to work in tandem once their regular season campaign kicks off when they meet the Highlanders in New Zealand on February 22.

The Reds captain said he had spoken to head coach Brad Thorn about expanding his passing game in order to build on a partnership that has been forged since he and Feauai-Sautia were kids.

“Me and Chris have been playing together since high school, and even before that when we were like eight, nine,” Kerevi told AAP.

“We’re pretty confident with each other.

“But 100 per cent; Thorny has spoken to me about that (looking to spread the ball more); it’s about adding that to the game and sharing that load.”

The Reds trailed 14-0 after less than 10 minutes when two Chiefs kicks exposed their defence.

They still had plenty of positives to take away, particularly at scrum time as they worked to level the scores heading into the final 20 minutes of play.

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Thorn spoke kindly of his side’s scrummaging efforts but lamented a couple of soft tries and highlighted an inability to convert after heaping pressure on the opposition.

Kerevi has asked for his side to slow things down if options don’t present themselves instead of risking possession in trying to force something.

“With our attack game flowing we’ve just got to hold onto that pill,” Kerevi said.

Rugby World Cup City Guides – Oita:

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Nickers 31 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

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