Allocation of players to NRC teams
The number of Super Rugby players allocated to each NRC team in this exercise is shown in the table below.
| NRC Team | Players | NRC Team | Players | |||
| Super | Test | Super | Test | |||
| Brisbane | 12 | 4 | Qld Country – GC | 13 | 3 | |
| Perth | 22 | 2 | Melbourne | 22 | 1 | |
| Canberra | 15 | 5 | NSW Country | 12 | 5 | |
| Sydney Uni | 12 | 3 | Nth Harbour Rays | 10 | 3 | |
| West Syd. Rams | 10 | 4 | Team X–Randwick | 10 | 1 | |
The next section contains the nominal breakdown of the players allocated to each squad.
Possible Squads
Test Players
Players in the Wallabies squad won’t be available to play in the NRC competition in most cases. They are all assigned to teams but are not counted toward the player cap.
For this exercise, the Wallabies squad is assumed to be the following:
Australia: 31 (10 Waratahs, 9 Brumbies, 7 Reds, 1 Rebels, 2 Force)
| PR | Alexander, Kepu, Robinson, Slipper |
| HK | Moore, Polota-Nau, S. Fainga’a |
| LK | Douglas, Horwill, Simmons, Fardy |
| LF | Higginbotham, Gill, Hooper, McCalman, Mowen, Palu |
| HB | Genia, Phipps, White |
| FH | Cooper, Foley |
| CE | Leali’ifano, T. Kuridrani, Toomua |
| WG | Ashley-Cooper, Cummins, Tomane |
| FB | Beale, Folau |
PR = Prop, HK = Hooker, LK = Lock, LF = Loose Forward,
HB = Halfback, FH = Fly-half, CE = Centre, WG = Wing, FB = Fullback.
Nominal selections only. Minor changes won’t significantly affect NRC.
Reds Distribution
This is the most straightforward case. The 32 players currently available (plus 3 future signings) are split roughly equally into two squads. For this exercise, a City team is assumed to be based in Brisbane and a Country team is assumed to be based on the Gold Coast. Players with country backgrounds or from the Gold Coast or the Southside are prioritised toward the Queensland Country team.
The Queensland Country side could still play matches in country areas (and perhaps even a Ballymore double-header), but the upside is that Reds players should not need to relocate. It should be noted that this would also apply if the second Queensland team was based at other places in or near Brisbane. This exercise is focused more on the distribution of players than the exact location to be chosen for the team. Some home matches might be taken to Toowoomba or other country centres.
Brisbane: 12 (11 + 1 exempt) + 4 Wallabies.
| PR | Anae, Owen |
| HK | Hanson |
| LK | McDuling Horwill |
| LF | Browning Gill |
| HB | Frisby Genia |
| FH | Cooper |
| CE | Harris, Kerevi (EPS) |
| WG | Shipperley, C. Kuridrani (EPS) |
| FB | Taulagi (rehab NZ), Turner |
PR = Prop, HK = Hooker, LK = Lock, LF = Loose Forward,
HB = Halfback, FH = Fly-half, CE = Centre, WG = Wing, FB = Fullback.
Queensland Country: 13 + 3 Wallabies.
| PR | Daley, HolmesSlipper |
| HK | S. Fainga’a |
| LK | O’Donoghue, Enever (EPS) Simmons |
| LF | Quirk, Robinson, Schatz |
| HB | |
| FH | B. Lucas |
| CE | Tapuai, A. Fainga’a |
| WG | Davies, Feauai-Sautia |
| FB | Toua |
PR = Prop, HK = Hooker, LK = Lock, LF = Loose Forward,
HB = Halfback, FH = Fly-half, CE = Centre, WG = Wing, FB = Fullback.
Note: Nominal selections only to show how the squads might appear.
Force Distribution
Of the 34 players available, 22 remain in Perth (incl. 7 exemptions).
Perth: 22 (15 + 7 exempt) + 2 Wallabies.
| PR | Faulkner, Heiberg (SA), Longbottom |
| HK | Charles |
| LK | McMeniman, Wykes, Steenkamp (SA) |
| LF | Alcock, Cottrell, Hodgson, Stander (SA) McCalman |
| HB | Prior, Louwrens (EPS), Mathewson (NZ) |
| FH | Holmes, Ebersohn (SA) |
| CE | Godwin, Stubbs, Brache (SA), Hayward (NZ) |
| WG | DellitCummins |
| FB | Haylett-Petty, Morahan |
PR = Prop, HK = Hooker, LK = Lock, LF = Loose Forward,
HB = Halfback, FH = Fly-half, CE = Centre, WG = Wing, FB = Fullback.
NSW Country: 1
| LK | Battye (Country v Lions) |
North Harbour Rays: 7
| PR | Cowan, S. Manu | FH | Burton (EPS) |
| HK | Abel (EPS) | CE | Tuatara-Morrison, Rasolea |
| LK | Walton (EPS) |
West Sydney Rams: 2
| LK | Coleman (EPS) | LF | Alcock |
Team X: Randwick and/or the rest: 1
| HK | Tessmann |
Note: Nominal selections only to show how the squads might appear.
Rebels Distribution
Of the 34 players available, 22 remain in Melbourne (incl. 7 exemptions).
Melbourne: 22 (15 + 7 exempt) + 1 Wallaby.
| PR | Lahiff, T. Smith, Weeks, Aholelei (TGA) |
| HK | Leafa, Horie (JPN) Sexton (not incl.) |
| LK | Jones, Pyle, Thomson, Jeffries (EPS) |
| LF | C. Fainga’a, McMahon, Fuglistaller (NZ)Higginbotham |
| HB | Burgess, B. Meehan (EPS) |
| FH | Hegarty |
| CE | Inman, English, Ellison (NZ) |
| WG | Veainu (NZ) |
| FB | Woodward (NZ) |
PR = Prop, HK = Hooker, LK = Lock, LF = Loose Forward,
HB = Halfback, FH = Fly-half, CE = Centre, WG = Wing, FB = Fullback.
NSW Country: 1
| FB | Roberts (Country v Lions) |
North Harbour Rays: 2
| LK | Neville | LF | Reid |
West Sydney Rams: 3
| PR | Ah-Nau (EPS) | LF | L. Timani |
| HK | Debreczeni (EPS) |
Sydney Uni, Balmain: 4
| HB | Stirzaker | WG | Kingston |
| CE | Mitchell | FB | Rokobaro |
Team X: Randwick and/or the rest: 1
| PR | Alo-Emile (ex. Sunnybank, Qld) |
Note: Nominal selections only to show how the squads might appear.
Brumbies Distribution
The Brumbies provide 15 Super players to Canberra and 10 to NSW Country.
Canberra: 15 (9 + 6 exempt) + 5 Wallabies.
| PR | Sio, R. Smith (SA), JP. Smith (EPS) |
| HK | Siliva Moore |
| LK | Carter, Whetton (NZ) |
| LF | Auelua (rehab), Smiler (NZ) Vaea & Pocock (not incl.) |
| HB | Hoffmann (SA) White |
| FH | Cronjé (SA), Tatekawa (JPN) Leali’ifano |
| CE | McCabe T. Kuridrani |
| WG | Speight, Van der Walt (EPS) |
| FB | Mogg |
PR = Prop, HK = Hooker, LK = Lock, LF = Loose Forward,
HB = Halfback, FH = Fly-half, CE = Centre, WG = Wing, FB = Fullback.
NSW Country: 10 + 5 Wallabies
| PR | Murphy, Alaalatoa (EPS) | PR | Alexander |
| HK | Mann-Rea (Country v Lions) | LK | Power, Fardy |
| LF | Butler (Country v Lions) | LF | Mowen, McCaffery (EPS) |
| HB | Dowsett (EPS) | FH | Coleman, Toomua |
| CE | A. Smith | WG | Tomane, Rathbone |
NSW Country: 12 + 5 Wallabies. * Recent Country Rep
| PR | Murphy, Alaalatoa (EPS) Alexander |
| HK | Mann-Rea* |
| LK | Power, Battye* Fardy |
| LF | Butler*, McCaffery (EPS) Mowen |
| HB | Dowsett (EPS) |
| FH | Coleman Toomua |
| CE | A. Smith |
| WG | Rathbone Tomane |
| FB | Roberts* |
Rebels, Force, PR = Prop, HK = Hooker, LK = Lock, LF = Loose Forward,
HB = Halfback, FH = Fly-half, CE = Centre, WG = Wing, FB = Fullback.
Note: Nominal selections only to show how the squads might appear.
