The seeds for Liam Wright's rugby dreams may have been sewn half a world away but the newest Reds skipper will represent Queensland as proudly as any captain of the past.
Born in Durban, Wright spent plenty of time dreaming of wearing the green and gold - but it was initially South Africa, rather than Australia where his allegiance lay.
"I probably imagined myself more in a Sharks jersey and watched the Springboks a bit more growing up," said Wright, who moved to Australia with his family when he was seven.
"But once I got over here and especially in Brisbane, they just love their sport and their rugby up here."
Wright touched on the rich history of Reds captains in his first media conference in the top job last week.
It was no shallow platitude though. A highly intelligent individual, who is understood to have performed exceptionally in leadership interviews in front of a panel including head coach Brad Thorn, general manager of rugby Sam Cordingley, chief executive David Hanham and Olympian and leadership expert Bo Hanson, Wright is well aware of the standing the Reds have held in Queensland sport previously and wants to help them return to the pinnacle.
"Big Kevvie Horwill lifting the trophy, that's probably (my most treasured moment)," Wright said of the Reds winning the Super Rugby title in 2011 when he was a rugby-mad 13-year-old at Brisbane's Anglican Church Grammar School.
"I don't remember the 80s and 90s when the Reds were such a dominant force but those are my real memories of the Reds, just a really strong team culture and winning ways.
"I definitely didn't picture it going this way but I'm really, really happy to be in this position."
Wright spent his formative years in South Africa and Zimbabwe - the homeland of his father - and headed to Australia with his parents Lee and Glynn and younger sister when he was just seven.
While his early allegiance had been to the Springboks, he quickly became a Reds fan, something that became entrenched when he was a boarder at Churchie.
He was 13 when the Reds won the Super Rugby title and while he wasn't at Suncorp Stadium for the final, the telecast of the match was a major event at a boarding house filled with rugby-mad teens.
"I wasn't here for the final but at the boarding house we'd go out a couple of times a term, they'd bring the whole boarding house to Reds games, so it was a really good time to come and watch them," he said.
Part of Churchie's famed 2014 premiership team - a side that also contained future rugby league stars Kalyn Ponga and Brodie Croft and rugby's Mack Mason and Angus Scott-Young - Wright is not only now entrenched in the Reds system but well aware of the club's history.
"When (Thorn) called me in and told me (I'd been appointed captain), I was incredibly proud, there's a really rich history in Queensland rugby - so I was really proud for me and my family," Wright said.
"I'm just really stoked and excited to take this group forward."
While the Reds had several strong candidates - Wallabies forward Izack Rodda captained the team last year in Samu Kerevi's absence, while Junior Wallabies captain Fraser McReight's leadership is so highly regarded the 20-year-old was handed the captaincy at Brisbane City during the NRC season - Wright is a popular appointment and has the support of all his teammates.
"I'm loving having their support and it's just going to help me have the confidence to go forward and do what I need to do on and off the field," he said.
"When he called me in and told me the news I was incredibly proud, there's a really rich history in Queensland rugby - so I was really proud for me and my family.
"I'm just really stoked and excited to take this group forward."
Wright played every game for the Reds last season and was on the field for all but 12 minutes of their Super Rugby campaign in a hurculean effort.
But he knows his own spot will be under pressure from the exceptional group of backrowers the club has coming through, with fellow openside flanker McReight among candidates for the World Rugby U20 championships player of the year in 2019.
Wright played at no.7 for Queensland last season but can also switch sides and play at blindside flanker, although the Reds boast Wallaby Lukhan Salakaia-Loto there, with Angus Scott-Young - who was invited into the Wallabies training squad by Michael Cheika early last year - at no.8 and exceptional Junior Wallaby Harry Wilson also pushing for a starting spot.
"We're really lucky we've got a lot of depth there and guys pushing for positions in pretty much every post across the field," Wright said.
"The way we play our second row impacts the way our back row shapes. We've got guys who can play everywhere and a lot of talent, so (that depth) will be really helpful coming into the season if there's a few injuries and that general rotation and guys pushing for spots with form."
Wright extended his contract in the off-season, although unlike many of his teammates, who signed until the end of the next World Cup in 2023, the 22-year-old is officially linked to the Reds for just the next two years.
But he has no intention of leaving.
"Queensland's where I want to be. I love it here and I want to be here my whole time really, it's a great place to live and a great place to play footy," he said.
"I love Brisbane and Queensland as a whole. But that was just the best decision for me at the time not to be on (contract) too long but defintely being captain here, I want to be here as long as I can, basically."
His Reds to Regions visit to Longreach and Barcaldine was a reminder to Wright that the Reds are a team for all of the state and as captain, he is now the figurehead for all the fans.
"Rugby union gets put in a little bubble of southeast Queensland and Brisbane, so it's awesome to (get out there)," he said.
"We're just trying to show that were for the whole of the state.
"And we want to get back to representing the whole state and hopefully make them proud and also have them barracking in our corner."
It's almost seven years now since Queensland has tasted post-season play and Wright is determined to lead his side back to the Super Rugby finals.
"We've had a few years now, the last two especially, where we've been in that rebuilding process, so we really want to start making our mark on this competition now," he said.
"We had a lot better showing this year, I think, and I think the fans appreciated that and the way that we played our footy but we couldn't quite get the result, so now's the time to start putting our mark on and actually getting those wins.
"That's the ultimate goal, that's what, I guess my leadership (goal) is to bring us back to winning ways and the ultimate goal is to lift that trophy for Queensland."
