Queensland Rugby Union today announced its squads and coaching staff for the inaugural U19s Rugby Championship.

QRU will field two teams in the tournament, Brisbane City U19s and Queensland Country U19s, which will take place in Canberra from September 28 to October 5.

The 25-man squads have been selected following the completion of the Queensland Premier Rugby season, with all nine clubs represented. 11 players from the Country side hail from Queensland’s regional pathways.

QRU has also chosen two development players for the Country U19s, with Caboolture’s Mathew Connor and Noosa’s Will Christie selected following strong performances for the Queensland Country Heelers U19s earlier this year. The pair will train with the squad in the lead up to the tournament.

Queensland Country will be coached by Bond University head coach Grant Anderson, supported by Norths’ Nick Fogarty and Sunnybank’s James McLaren.

“We’re really excited with the group of players we’ve got. A lot of them have played premier grade Rugby this year. We’ve got a talented forward pack and some strike power in the backline,” Anderson said.

“I think the U19s will fill a gap in our pathway program between leaving school and the Junior Wallabies. It is a crucial stepping stone for those players looking to play rep footy as a Junior Wallaby next year.

“The tournament will be a big challenge, we’ve just got to do everything we can to make sure the players are ready to take on the best in Australia.”

Brisbane City will be coached by Sunnybank head coach Damon Virtue, who will be supported by assistants Kelevi Tuicolo of Brothers and Pat Byron from Wests.

“We’re happy with the squad we’ve pulled together. It is a pretty good reflection of the club competition. There’s a lot of combinations within the squad, so we’re hoping they’ll come together and click fairly quickly,” Virtue said.

“It’s pretty exciting to take part in a new competition. It’s a much needed piece of the pathway and is really beneficial to have the guys coming from this competition into Junior Wallabies duties.

“We’re expecting tough opposition with strong teams across the board. It is going to be a great tournament.”

The U19s Rugby Championship (URC) was announced by Rugby Australia earlier this year, as a replacement for the Super U20s competition.

The inaugural tournament will feature the Western Force U19s, Melbourne Rebels U19s, Brumbies U19s, Sydney U19s, NSW Country Eagles U19s, Brisbane U19s, Queensland Country U19s and the Australian Barbarians U19s.

Queensland Country U19s – Squad and coaching staff

Head coach – Grant Anderson (Bond University)

Assistant coach – Nick Fogarty (Norths)

Assistant coach – James McLaren (Sunnybank)

Forwards

Brendan Bell – Brothers

Jack Butler – Bond University* – Gold Coast

Lachlan Connors – Bond University – Gold Coast

Will Dearden – Wests – Warwick

Theo Fourie – Souths – Rockhampton

Reno Gerrard – The Southport School – Gold Coast

Reagan Leslie – Souths – Toowoomba

Angus Lovelock – Brothers

Torah Moe – University of Queensland

Ollie Sheppard – Wests*

Egan Siggs – Brothers – Gold Coast

Alex Smit – Wests*

Laurence Tominiko – Sunnybank

Dane Zander – Norths

Matthew Connor – Caboolture Snakes (development player)

Backs

Max Dowd – Bond University – Gold Coast

Ilaisa Droasese – Wests

Isaac Henry – Wests

Elijah Kefu – Souths

Viliami Lea – Souths

Neal McNamara – Sunnybank

Lachlan Sperling – University of Queensland – Toowoomba

Isaac Tarabay – Brothers

Brad Twidale – University of Queensland – Bringalily (Darling Downs)

Joshua Walker – Bond University – Gold Coast

Cooper Whiteside – Wests

Will Christie – Noosa Dolphins (development player)

Brisbane City U19s – Squad and coaching staff

Head coach – Damon Virtue (Sunnybank)

Assistant coach – Kelevi Tuicolo (Brothers)

Assistant coach – Pat Byron (Wests)

Forwards

Jed Chapman – GPS

Joe Cotton – Wests

Angus Dean – Souths*

Ben Fox – Sunnybank

Elijah Kuilamu – Sunnybank

Nathan Marshall – Sunnybank

Matthew Munday – Brothers

Zac Munro – Souths

Flynn Noon – Wests*

Ben Paxton-Hall – University of Queensland

Prynce-Romeo Taugaele – Wests

Rhys Van Nek – Souths

Xavier Vela-Tupuhi – Souths

John Yates – University of Queensland

Backs

Nathan Carroll – Brothers

Hudson Creighton – Brothers

Isaac De Flavis – GPS

Will Feeney – Sunnybank

Henry Lennon – Brothers*

Liam Matenga – Easts

Liam Predagast – Norths*

Byron Ralston – Brothers

Billy Rutherford – Souths

Sam Samu – Sunnybank

Tristan Stanghon – Brothers

*NRC replacement player

Unavailable due to injury:

Liam Usher – Brothers (prop)

Lloyd Gorman – Sunnybank (prop)