Bond University Queensland Country will go head to head with Melbourne Rising in their first game of the 2015 Buildcorp National Rugby Championship (NRC) this Sunday, August 23.
The Queensland Country team features 15 St.George Queensland Reds players alongside a selection of 16 of the best up-and-comers in the BLK Queensland Premier Rugby and Queensland country Rugby competitions, along with three marquee players from the Wallabies - Rob Simmons, Saia Fainga’a and fellow Bond University student James Slipper.
Flying the flag for the Bond University Rugby Club will be Dion Taumata, Milton Sikuea, Alex Mafi and Richie Arnold.
Bond University's Director of Sport, Garry Nucifora, said it was shaping up to be an exciting first round of the competition.
"This year's Queensland Country side has a very strong base of experienced Super Rugby players, which will make it a great game for spectators," he said.
"We're thrilled to be hosting the first round here on the Gold Coast, and encourage all locals to get down to the game on Sunday to cheer on their home team."
The event will kick off with the Gold Coast Cyclones U16s versus Kaeo RFC (NZ) at 12.50pm followed by a Gold Coast Invitational Schoolboy Showdown at 2pm.
Queensland Country and Melbourne Rising will take the field at 3.30pm.
Tickets to the match are $15 and can be purchased from http://evtp.to/9629d