Australian provincial team Queensland Reds will prepare for next year's Super 14 tournament with a four-match development tour of Ireland in August-September, the Queensland Rugby Union said Friday.

Reds coach Phil Mooney's 26-man squad will play matches against Ulster, Connacht, Leinster and Munster A.

QRU high-performance manager Ben Whitaker said the Irish tour was crucial in preparing non-Test players and new recruits for the Super 14 season, which kicks off next February.

"The younger Queensland players especially will learn a lot from this tour, as the Irish provinces will be gearing up for the European championship season and want some hard matches to fine tune their own combinations," Whitaker said.

"The Irish clubs are pretty excited about us touring there."

Queensland's squad will include 2009 contracted Reds not involved with the Wallabies, some junior academy players and possibly some uncontracted club players.

The tour will start on August 19 and finish on September 4.

AFP.

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