Super Rugby Trans-Tasman Rd 4 - Reds v Blues
Sport by Emma Greenwood 4th Jun 2021 10:03 PM | Updated: 10:20 PM
An undermanned âGen Nextâ Queensland Reds have given the unbeaten Blues a fright, getting within a converted try of the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman leaders in their final home game of the season.
The Blues won 31-24 in a four tries to three victory, with the Reds having a chance to spring an upset when they held possession after the siren.
The Reds lost experienced backs James OâConnor to a neck injury on match day, before Bryce Hegartyâs late withdrawal with a hamstring problem led to teen tyro Mac Grealy getting an emergency call-up from coach Brad Thorn to make his debut.
3rd Jun 2021 5:39 PM | Updated: 5:57 PM
Reds coach Brad Thorn has made no apologies for dumping Super Rugby AU hero Fraser McReight in response to ongoing defensive deficiencies plaguing the Queenslanders.
Despite the Reds last week becoming the first Australian team to beat New Zealand opposition in the new Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition with a 40-34 win over the Chiefs in Townsville, Thorn remains unhappy with Queensland’s defence.
Flanker McReight is the biggest casualty of Thorn’s determination to stop leaking points.
Man of the match in the Reds’ 19-16 Super Rugby AU grand final win over the Brumbies last month, McReight has failed to even retain his bench spot from last weekend for Friday night’s clash against Auckland’s Blues at Suncorp Stadium.
This shift in tactical thinking also has important ramifications for the Wallabies with national coach Dave Rennie committing to specialist No 7 Michael Hooper to captain the side again this year, bucking the international trend.
With a bigger backrow Queensland were able to win the collisions against the Chiefs and when the Reds win the collisions they more often than not win the game. But that was not the only important change the Reds made.
The Queenslanders are prone to making unforced handling errors and desperately needed to tidy up this area. Unlike their big losses to the Highlanders and the Crusaders in the first two rounds, the Reds âtreasuredâ the ball against the Chiefs, which is necessary to have any hope of beating the counter-attacking New Zealanders.
Chiefs comeback falls short against Reds after McKenzie red card Newshub 5 hrs ago
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Fulltime - Reds 40 Chiefs 34
Wrap - Wow. What a crazy game. The Reds were flawless in the first spell and led 12-3 when McKenzie was sent off. The piled on three more tries and the game looked dead.
Trailing 40-8 with a 17 minutes to go, the Chiefs were electric, opening up the Reds at will in the closing stages and almost pulled off a deadset miracle.
The Reds hung on - just - and the Aussies have their first win of Super Rugby Trans-Tasman.