The Queensland Reds will host Fiji-born electrifying winger Marika Koroibete’s Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights in a tour match at Ballymore Stadium in November.
Following last year’s inaugural Queensland-Saitama Shield fixture in Japan, the Reds and Wild Knights will face-off again on 4 November at 3.05pm in what will be a historic occasion being the first capped Queensland fixture at the iconic venue since 2010.
The Reds will feature top Fijian players with the likes of Filipo Daugunu, Suliasi Vunivalu, Seru Uru and Flying Fijian Peni Ravai.
The Saitama Prefecture was Queensland’s first sister-state relationship formed in 1984.
The two sides played off for the first time in 1991 with a Queensland team that featured the likes of Tim Horan, Jason Little, John Eales and Paul Carozza facing the Saitama XV in Japan that included Wild Knights GM Hitoshi Iijima.
Queensland was victorious in the first edition of the Queensland-Saitama Shield in 2022, as the Reds ran out 55-30 winners at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium.
