Queensland Reds schedule four-match November tour across Japan and Italy

The Queensland Reds have confirmed a four-match international tour this November, taking in Japan and Italy as the club builds towards the 2027 Super Rugby Pacific season under new head coach Vern Cotter.

The tour opens with back-to-back fixtures against Japan Rugby League One side the Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights on November 7 and November 14, played at Ota City Sports Park Stadium and Kumagaya Stadium respectively. The double-header continues an annual two-game exchange between the two clubs that has run since 2022.

From Japan, the Reds travel to Treviso in northern Italy for the European leg of the trip. They face an Italy XV on November 20 before closing the tour against Benetton Rugby on November 27, with both matches scheduled at the 5,000-seat Stadio Monigo.

Cotter, who has recently arrived in Brisbane ahead of the 2026 Super Rugby AUS campaign, described the tour as a key opportunity to build cohesion with his new squad. “The key shift will be getting more physical and creating that word ‘edge’. You’ve got to have fun too so you have to make sure you enjoy the contest and embrace the difficulty of it,” he said.

“The tour gives me time to get comfortable with this group of players and to get to know a great coaching staff.”

The four fixtures give Cotter valuable preparation time with his players before the longer-term target of the Super Rugby Pacific season, with the tour spread across three weeks and two continents providing varied competitive tests against club and representative opposition.