Simmons cleared for Reds' South African tour

The Reds held on for dear life to upset the Highlanders 28-27 in Brisbane at the weekend record their first victory of the 2016 Super Rugby campaign.

The 27-man squad for their trip to South Africa includes lock Rob Simmons, after the was cleared of any serious injury - following the Brisbane victory/.

The Reds departs on Monday and will face the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday (April 16) and the Stormers in Cape Town the  next Saturday (April 23).

The squad features all but one member of the match-day 23 which defeated the Highlanders, with James Tuttle replacing injured scrumhalf Scott Gale (hand).

Joining them are prop Pettowa Paraka, utility back Duncan Paia'aua, Junior Laloifi and Queensland Under-20 lock Lukhan Tui.

"It's great to get the result over the Highlanders and pleasing that Rob's injury wasn't as bad as first feared," Reds co-interim coach Nick Stiles said.

"It's good to have a guy of his experience touring with the group.

"The next two weeks are our first significant amount of time away as a group this season and present a strong opportunity for us to continue to build on the identity we've been working on for some time."

Reds squad:

Forwards: Sef Fa'agase, Greg Holmes, Pettowa Paraka, James Slipper (captain), Sam Talakai, Saia Fainga'a, Andrew Ready, Ben Matwijow, Cadeyrn Neville, Rob Simmons, Lukhan Tui, Curtis Browning, Liam Gill, Jake Schatz, Hendrik Tui.

Backs: Nick Frisby, James Tuttle, Sam Greene, Jake McIntyre, Anthony Fainga'a, Samu Kerevi, Duncan Paia'aua, Chris Feauai-Sautia, Ayumu Goromaru, Karmichael Hunt, Junior Laloifi, Eto Nabuli.