Star Queensland Reds recruit Adam Thomson has vowed to make up for his side's diabolical first outing against the Brumbies in what will be his first game of Super Rugby in two years.

The former Highlanders and All Blacks back-rower joined the Reds earlier this year but didn't feature in the opening 47-3 loss to the Brumbies. Aware of the traditions and passion in Queensland rugby, Thomson is keen to help atone for a defeat he described as "embarrassing".

"The Reds are a proud team and there's a lot of tradition, and they usually put in some good performances," he said. "So there's no hiding from the fact that we let ourselves down and it was an embarrassing occasion. But it puts more fight in us this week to get it right."

The Reds are yet to name their side for Saturday night's clash with the Force, shock winners over NSW Waratahs first up, but Thomson could come straight into the starting side after the Reds back-row was easily outplayed in Canberra. Having made 68 appearances in a six-year stint with the Highlanders, Thomson shouldn't have too much trouble readjusting to Super Rugby. But the 32-year-old 29-Test star admitted to feeling some nerves ahead of his first outing in a Reds jersey.

Adam Thomson could start against the Force © PA Photos

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"I've got that excitement back, I've got a bit of nerves about it which is really good I haven't had that for a long time playing Super Rugby," he said. "For me, it's about getting back into the swing of things; getting up to pace and not trying to do something special; it's just doing my core role and doing that well, and contributing how I can."

The Reds were on the end of a 17-8 penalty count in Canberra last week while former captain James Horwill received two yellow cards for separate offences. Horwill was on Sunday cleared to face the Force by a SANZAR judiciary hearing, but Thomson said the side had been putting in a lot of mental preparation to ensure there wasn't a repeat of last week's result.

"It was surprising; I'm sure that's not what they expected," he said of the effort in Canberra. "But credit to the Brumbies, they came out firing and were really ready for us and they took it to us. But the flipside of that is that it doesn't take much to change; a big percentage of that (defeat) was mental and we've been putting a lot of work into that this week, and I'm sure we won't be letting that happen again."

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