Norths' Stowers in Manu Samoa squad
Norths’ backrower Ray Stowers has made the Manu Samoan 42 man extended national squad to contest the IRB Pacific Nations Cup from June 5 to July 6, involving Australia A, NZ Maori, Fiji, Tonga and Japan.
Australian Rugby Championship player Stowers is another product of Norths' development program, which has also produced national Under 20 representatives Andrew Rossiter and Qld Reds flyer Blair Connor in 2008.
Norths Head Coach Chris Roche said, “ Ray is one of the best number sevens in Queensland Rugby and the club is immensely proud of his selection in the Manu Samoan Squad. It is a just reward for his performances over the past few seasons”.
The loss of their representative players for most of the second round, coupled with season ending injuries to other key players, could place Norths in a particularly vulnerable position coming into the second round.
Rangy backrower Rossiter suffered a season ending injury in the recent Australian Under 20 trial match v Fiji, which is a cruel blow to the youngster who will now miss the Under 20 IRB Rugby World Cup in Wales.
Lock Josh Sio is out for the season due to an injury sustained in Norths win against Wests on 10th May, while Norths have also lost two No 10s, Frank Genia, out for the season with a broken ankle and veteran Dan Thompson with a hamstring strain last night. Winger Shadrach Ghabila is also out with an ankle injury.
Roche conceded the loss of these players in key positions could become an issue - but only if the players allowed it to.
“If the lads in the squad believe it will be a problem, it will be a self fulfilling prophecy. Conversely, if they don’t believe it will be an issue, they will get the outcome they seek. Outcomes depend on our actions, and our actions depend on our beliefs”, Roche said.
“We have taken steps to cover these positions as much as is realistically possible, and provided the other players in our squad step up to the plate over the next five weeks, we should be at reasonable strength coming into the business end of the season”.
