“Unpredictable” Uru, a key weapon for the Reds

The “unpredictability” of Reds scoring man Seru Uru is looming large for a Queensland side intent on becoming the first Australian team to win a Super Rugby final on New Zealand soil.

Fiji-born Wallabies prospect Uru will make his 50th appearance for Queensland when the Reds meet the Chiefs in the Super Rugby Pacific quarter-final on Friday night in Hamilton.

This is a repeat of last season's do-or-die finals affair between the teams at the same venue, FMG Stadium.

That night, the Chiefs won 29-20 to end the Reds' season in Week 1 of the Finals.

However, the Queenslanders go into Friday night's battle with much more confidence, with Lock Uru's form one of the reasons the Reds believe they can end the run of withdrawals the Australian sides have had to across Tasmania in the Super Rugby qualifiers.

“He’s an incredibly popular member of our Seru squad,” Reds co-captain Tate McDermott said.

“It's just the unpredictability of his game. He's got the ability to offload, he's got the ability to break the line, he's got the speed and he's really worked hard and improved his defensive abilities as well.

“I’m really happy for Seru. He was incredible for us. What comes naturally to him is his ability, like any Fijian, to break the line and offload, as well as attack, but the way he grafted onto his set pieces was phenomenal.

“I can’t wait to see Seru lead us (Friday night). It's great to see Seru come in and bring so much to our team. We greatly appreciate his work.

McDermott was also pleased with the development of partner Tom Lynagh, who won the hotly contested battle for Queensland's No.10 jersey.

“It’s just a matter of trust. I also spent a lot of time with Tommy Lynagh off the field and built that relationship,” said the Reds half-back.

“Tommy's development is down to the fact that he has three other good No.10s that he competes with week in and week out…James O'Connor, Harry McLaughlin-Phillips and Lawson Creighton.

“The depth at the position and the competition have been crucial to Tommy’s game.

“The team can see what he is capable of. I'm excited (but) we don't want him to be a hero (against the Chiefs), we just want him to play his basic game to the best of his ability.

“His kicking is going to be extremely important for us. He is a crucial cog in our wheel.

“For us, it’s a mental battle (Friday night), and we just have to bring what we’ve brought all year and then some.”

Leaders: Aidan Ross, Samisoni Taukei'aho, George Dyer, Jimmy Tupou, Tupou Vaa'i, Samipeni Finau, Luke Jacobson, Wallace Sititi, Cortez Ratima, Damian McKenzie, Etene Nanai Seturo, Rameka Poihipi, Anton Lienert-Brown, Emoni Narawa, Shaun Stevenson. Bench: Bradley Slater, Jared Proffit, Reuben O'Neill, Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Simon Parker, Xavier Roe, Quinn Tupaea, Daniel Rona.

The Reds : Alex Hodgman, Matt Faessler, Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, Seru Uru, Ryan Smith, Liam Wright, Fraser McReight, John Bryant, Tate McDermott, Tom Lynagh, Mac Grealy, Hunter Paisami, Josh Flook, Tim Ryan, Jock Campbell. Bench: Josh Nasser, Sef Fa'agase, Zane Nonggorr, Connor Vest, Joe Brial, Kalani Thomas, Lawson Creighton. Taj Annan.