Horwill fired up for return - Sportal.com.au

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Wallabies skipper James Horwill will make his long-awaited return from injury for the Reds in Friday night's trial match against defending champions the Chiefs on the Sunshine Coast.

Horwill suffered a severe hamstring injury against the Brumbies last May, ruling him out of the final rounds of the Super Rugby season and the entire 2012 Wallabies campaign.

The 27-year-old will lead the Reds into action in the Queenslanders' final pre-season hit-out before their season opener against the Brumbies on February 16.

"I'm a terrible spectator at the best of times, so it's a huge relief to be out of 'Team Rehab' and in a position to play once again," the 35-Test Wallaby said of his imminent return.

"We've been extremely diligent in not rushing the rehab process to ensure that my hamstring would be ready for when the Super Rugby season kicked off.

"It's exciting to now be at that stage and I'm just looking forward to Friday night.

"It's important we are building momentum heading into the Super Rugby season.

"We've already had a strong hit-out against the Blues but the Chiefs are a completely new challenge, so the onus is on everyone to take their game to another level and push for selection in round one."

Fellow Test players Rob Simmons, Saia Fainga'a and Dom Shipperley also return to bolster the squad alongside Jake Schatz and Chris F'Sautia.

In total, 11 capped Wallabies from 2012 - James Slipper, James Hanson, Fainga'a, Simmons, Horwill, Liam Gill, Mike Harris, Ben Tapuai, Digby Ioane, Luke Morahan and Shipperley - will be in action for the 2011 Super Rugby champs.

The Reds scored an entertaining 41-35 victory over the Blues in Toowoomba last Saturday.

Reds squad: 1. Greg Holmes, 2. Saia Fainga'a, 3. James Slipper, 4. James Horwill (c), 5. Rob Simmons, 6. Eddie Quirk, 7. Liam Gill, 8. Jake Schatz, 9. Ben Lucas, 10. Jono Lance, 11. Digby Ioane, 12. Mike Harris, 13. Ben Tapuai, 14. Rod Davies, 15. Luke Morahan.

Reserves: Albert Anae, James Hanson, Jono Owen, Ed O'Donaghue, Adam Wallace-Harrison, Nigel Ah Wong, Curtis Browning, Jarrad Butler, Nick Frisby, Dion Taumata, Chris F'Sautia, Aidan Toua, Dom Shipperley.