Waratahs jubilant as Reds suffer harrowing defeat

PHB .... Barnes came off because he slightly strained something .... forget which ... but he did limp off.

My biggest concern is that Barnes was pulled with the game on the line. I know the Halangahu played well when he came on but Isn't BB supposed to be the match winner? Does Hickey have faith in him?

Justin, I'm not sure on that score .... Barnes was doing a lot of talking though .... and the slow service was there regardless of whether it was Barnes or Beale at first receiver. By the way guys I was in line with the last pass from Anesi to Sidey and it was flat, not forward. Hangers was lucky as he butchered a certain try out wide on the same side of the field on the previous phase. Ben Mowen derserves mention ... yes, he might have given away a penalty try (but who would not have done the same in similar circumstances?) ... but he was quite outstanding all over the ground in all other facets of play. Mumm deserves his suspension for the way in which he cleaned out Faiinga but Joubert is actually responsible for the incident. He allowed Faiinga to remain loitering on the Tahs side where he was interfering with getting the ball out. I think Mumm got a tad frustrated at Faiinga not being told to move. Mitchell did not do too badly .... he made no booboos, his kicks were very good and when he received the ball he generally had no where to go .... he certainly does not deserve to be dropped based on that performance and I am not a great fan of his. For the Reds .... Genia very good, Braid very good, Hynes very good, Horwill lead from front, Ione was well covered in attack and found out a couple of times in defence, Turinui was he on the field? Cooper ok but tended to over play his hand at times, Reds scrum was monstered but the rucks and mauls were better.

Go watch the diving catch and pass from burgess that should have led to a try except butchered by halangahu - i am pretty sure you think Holmes was on longer than he actually was (would have passed it 4 times max and turned it over once in that short time). Burgess also lead the tackle and runs counts for the tahs - maybe find another scapegoat...like turner not being able to dive on a ball or beale running it twice all game etc. etc.

TK - I am no fan of Burgess, worst pass I have seen from a Wallaby 9 ever. However is this delaying of the pass a result of slow organisation from Barnes? Your 5/8 should always be ready before the 9 and shouting out where you are so that crucial split seconds are not lost and you can attack a weak channel. I wonder how much the delay is down to Barnes not being ready or insistent enough?

Looks like Mowen will start with Invisible Mumm (the most overrated footballer in the country?) getting suspended for 2 matches for a gutless shoulder charge. Ironic he hit one of the other most OR players in Fainga! Both useless.

Benny, Holmes did what was required .... he cleared the ball quickly, something Burgess failed to do. Even the Reds fans sitting near me were complaining about Burgess. He continually stood over the ball delaying the clearance, meanwhile the Reds lined up in defence and were organized .... in stark contrast to the Tahs who struggled getting organized due to the Reds quick clearances. I noted that in the pre-game warm ups that Burgess does not do a sideways dance before he passes but he does every single time during the game. His pass is now flat, but it is also slow, in contrast Holmes' pass was flat and quick. In all other apects Burgess had an ok game, his defence was good and his running was sharp. However he is no good to the Tahs unless he gets the slow service out of his game.

Holmes was only on for the last 7 minutes Tez - layed on the 2nd last try for the Waratahs and Halangahu butchered one off a great ball a ruck earlier by stepping inside - holmes was rubbish when he came on, turned it over straight away

Gifted?? The Tah's had to work hard for that win. They had a penalty try against them, the down to 14 men. Hardly 'gifted NSW the win' If the Tah's play like they did in the last 10 mins, they win a lot of games his year

Agree Hawko re Mitchell. He shows flashes of brillance but can't string together consistent form and very rarily has a complete game. Nadolo is the spark the Waratahs need as they are a side who needs a fire cracker to be set off in the first few minutes to get their minds on the game. As for the Reds, I actually think this year is their year to become consistent and a threat. I am picking them to upset a few sides this year and end up mid table with the first upset starting this weekend against the Crusaders. May be mad but listening to Horwills cracking voice on Saturday shows me a passion that will lead his side to a few good wins.

The quality of play in this match was way better than the Stumbles-Farce game on Friday. For a round 1 game there were signs for both sides that they will play better than last year. The new ruck interpretation will take time to get used to; the rucks were a lot looser and more scraggy than before. I am not sure the helter-skelter will last, but it was nice to see less aimless kicking and more rugby being played. Burgess needs to be told that if the ball stays at the back of a ruck for more than half a second he will be pulled. His task is twofold - to pick it up quickly and to decide whether to pass, kick or run. It is not his responsibility to wait till he is sure everyone is ready - he has to maintain momentum, which under the new interpretation is crucial to putting the other team on the back foot. It is the responsibility of everyone else not engaged at the breakdown to get into their position to take a pass if and when it comes. The Tahs need to replace Mitchell, he is not fitting into the new style. He kicked virtually everything he got, often taking way too long about it. I know he's got a long kick but that is not going to cut it this year. Wingers and fullbacks need to be able to run it back more than half the time, and he has not shown that he can. Betham and Nadolo need to be given a chance to show what they can do, the back three need to be able to break a game open. The Kiwi games showed similar promise too. Maybe we will play better but if they improve more than us we still won't make the finals. The next two rounds, when we don't have so many local derbies will give us a better indication of relative merit. The SA games indicated that Bulls and Stormers will go well and Lions/Cheetahs will occupy their usual positions. The next two weeks will resolve the merits of the best Aussie teams vs the best South Africans. I've watched every round one game and got a lot more pleasure out of it than last year. Bouquets to Lyndon Bray and everyone else concerned.

For the me the momentum shifted after Andrew Shaw gave away two pens when the Reds had the Tahs pinned on their own try line. The second one of those was for dropping his bind off the defensive 5m scrum, which allowed the Tahs to kick their way up field and out of trouble. Saia Faingaa's poor throws compounded those errors. Horwill ever the true leader took the blame for losing the last line out, saying he made a dodgy call. I hope he is the captain for the next decade.

Does anybdy feel, as I do, that this is another rugby failure to see tries to the victors ? Ref Joubert has probably gone home congratulating himself on his control and heads will nod at his match report. But rugby lost. We should learn from this game and think of the ways to fix it.

Fair enough replacement then Red Rooster. Still too many dumb moves by Queensland in that last 10 minutes though.

Were any of you blokes actually at the game and saw what happened. I've just read 40 odd posts that many of which are cfompletely wrong as to what actually happened. First Point - Penalty against Mitchell - he actually was the tackler for the previous phase, Reds recycled quickly move forward, player tackled, ball comes back straight to Mitchell who is getting to his feet from previous tackle. Mitchell plays ball gets penalised for off side. Burgess - good in attack and defence but way too slow in clearing the ball. Another poster said Tahs didn't try to run the ball, bullshit !!!! they had no chance to run because the service was too slow. Burgesws did not throw harbour bridge passes but they were simply to slow thru the air and too long was taken before they were thrown. By the time Barnes or Beale got the ball there was nothing they could do with it. Things were much better when Holmes came on for the last 10-15 .... and it was precisely then that the Tahs started to play Reds scrum was shit the whole game. Why was there not a penalty try to the Tahs in the first half when the Reds collapsed two 5m scrums in a row? No stand out forward? Rubbish. Daniel Braid had a stormer ... was no one watching? Set piece? At both scrum and line out the Tahs pack were dominant. In the loose the Reds held the upper hand because they were more enthusiastic but not more disciplined. The Reds looked sharper and looked the better team because they cleared the ball faster. Genia totally outpointed Burgess and Holmes provided better service than Burgess. Where does that leave Burgess? Halangahu performed better at 10 than Barnes but that may have been because Hangers got faster service from Holmes than Barnes got from Burgess. Benn Robinson had a quiet night. Kepu was good when he came on. Baxter did nothing all night. Welcome back Will C, a little rusty but toally wholehearted. Likewise Palu. Mumm gave away too many penalties. Kane Douglas in his few short stints gave more than Jowitt. Ben Mowen should start next game, he was quite awesome. Turner by far best of the back three. Anesi was very tentative. Mitchell was better, kicked very well, but was not called upon for a high ball or asked too much of in defence. Beale did ok at 12. His defence was adequate and he was incisive in attack. Note: Tahs backs need to learn to run straight rather than crab across field and crowd the winner. Tahs won ugly but the Reds threw it away thru ill-discipline.

Nice summary Bay35, Both Aus S14 games seemed a lot more open and even under Joubert (known for his pedantry) there were great periods of running play we have not seen for some years. I also watched a bit of the Mungo game and was stunned by how fierce and accurate their play was considering it was really only an exhibition game. It may be that rugby tends to require more cohesive play (especially in forwards) and this takes a little longer to gel. Still as a spectacle the rugby game was an improvement over recent experience. I was dumbfounded when somehow Cliffy snuck over under posts...... The gutted look on Horwill's face spoke volumes. If only the Wallabies could learn to win them at the death too. I thought the Qld centres were pretty ordinary, maybe they'll move Digby back to 13 and put a proper ball player in at 12. God how they must rue the loss of Barnes, who while not electric, offers such a good foil to exhuberance of Cooper. The Red back 3 looked good as a unit and Hynes has slipped into 15 well. I agree we are still missing a good lock or two, then again maybe they are good scrummagers, as a back I never had any idea who did what to whom in there. I was as frustrated as anyone with the slow service from the ruck, but I doubt that is entirely Burgess' fault. At times the forwards are loitering in the way when a quick ball to the backs would have been timely. By comparison Genia always seemed to have space behind the ruck (or somehow found it), nonetheless on the basis of that performance Burgess (and those of Valentine, Phibbs, Sheehan) Deans will be praying that the Papuan stays fit. He reads a game so well that he always seems well positioned in defense and attack, never bogged down in a ruck. Still, it's early days, but if the style of play continues we may be in for a cracker of a year for running rugby!

Genia was struggling with cramps - replaced by Kingi, the only Wallaby on the Reds bench

Well what's it to be then? Is Ewen a better coach that Chris Hickey or not? Would a better coach have switched such a dynamic 9 at that crucial stage? But you see it all the time don't you. Maybe Genia was injured? Qld played extremely well but then they always manage to lift against NSW. Will they find that 'passion' week in and week out? I sure hope so. Australia needs all 4 provincial teams on fire.

Queensland also would have won if 1) Higginbotham hadn't given away Two stupid penalties in the last 3 minutes and 2) McKenizie hadn't replaced Genia with Kingi in the last few minutes ... why do this with the game in the balance? Genia had again been very good and is strong defensively. Its too much to ask a rookie 9which is what Kingi is) to come on and immediately perform. Queensland shot in the foot by 1) dumb play by Higginbotham and 2) stupid replacements. As to the 'we're back" well if being back means yet another season of losing games in the final quarter that we were ahead of and players not up to standard being on the pitch, then yes, sadly, we are back. Queensland rugby will be back when there is all round toughness and 80 minute smart and inventive play shown. lets not delude ourselves. The commitment was there, what I am worried about is they will now drop their bundle after last night's massive letdown. The real test in my book is this week. Heartbreaking and, on the balance, unjustified loss last night.

Bugger. I agree that it is hoped the Reds use the bitterness of this defeat to the arch enemy, to steel themselves for the full 80 minutes all season. Remember it boys. Especially the rematch. Great to see Horwill etc trying to soften up Barnes. He's got it coming to him. He's going to regret turning his back on Qld methinks. The boys oozed potential for 70 mins. Shocked to see a McKenzie team showing a bit of verve. Maybe the frogs actually got in to his psyche a bit. I can stomach a few more QLD losses if they keep having a go like that. Some big units there and a bit of mongrel. Tut tut. Go you good things. Is it me or did the Wallaby players mostly look like they have stepped up a level after the tour ?