By Matthew Gharakhanian

Queensland Reds and Wallabies Captain James Horwill will remain with the Queensland and Australian Rugby Union he announced at a press conference this morning.

The new contract with the Queensland and Australian Rugby Union will last until the end of 2015.

Horwill, who is only 27, says he did not want to go anywhere else.

“I love playing for Queensland and Australia,” Horwill said.

“It means an awful lot to me to represent both teams and I never had any desire to look anywhere else.

“I’ve made no secrets about what playing for the Reds and Wallabies means to me, so I couldn’t be happier to have the contract finalised and my future settled.”

This comes as good news for both Queensland and Australian Rugby as Horwill will remain in Australia until the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

He is also set to play an important leadership role for the Wallabies in their upcoming Test series against The British and Irish Lions in June.

Reds head coach Richard Graham said keeping Horwill was essential to ensuring the team’s success and was good news for the organisation.

“He’s a fine leader of young men and that’s been indicative over the last couple of years by peers and at a national level,” Graham said.

“It’s a really good vote of confidence for the organisation and a real start to what we’ll see over the next couple of weeks.”

While his long-term future is assured, Horwill is still in some doubt for this Friday’s match after he suffered a knock to the head  in a recent game.

“We erred on the side of caution and didn’t put myself or the team at risk by going back out there when I wasn’t 100 per cent,” Horwill said.

He says he will be seeing the doctor later today, but he still intends on joining the match on Friday.

Despite this, Horwill says he will be making the most of the upcoming matches.

“Moving forward in this competition, you need to make the most of opportunities because, as you move on, opportunities become less and less,” Horwill said.

Horwill and Graham say they’re looking forward to the next match against the Sharks on Friday and trying to gain a victory over them.

“It’ll be a massive game,” Horwill said.

As for Horwill’s future after 2015, he says only time will tell.

“I’ll see where I’m at as a player and I’ll see where my body’s at after 2015 and we’ll make a decision then,” Horwill said.

“I want to play where I’m happy and at the moment I’m happiest here in Queensland, in Australia.”