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Blues coach Tana Umaga defended his decision to go for a draw rather than the win, with his side camped inside the Reds’ 22-metre line after the siren.
“The players wanted to go for the lineout, (but) we were a man down,” Umaga said.
“It had been a long evening in this heat and we weren’t assured of winning the game.
“In those terms we thought it better for us to go get the points and come away from this encounter with half the points.”
Reds skipper Rob Simmons, meanwhile, rued the lineout lost minutes earlier which gave the ball to the Blues when the chance was there to see out the game.
“They put pressure on us and we panicked a bit,” Simmons said.
“”We went away from our drill and under threw it. It’s very disappointing.
Despite missing out on victory, O’Connor felt the Reds’ play in the second half gives them something to build on for the rest of the season.
“There was some real intent and endeavour with what we tried to do with the footy, probably for the first time this year,” O’Connor said.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.