We continue the countdown to the Super Rugby season kick off with a look at the chances of Queensland Reds in 2011.
Team: Queensland Reds
Homeground: Suncorp Stadium (52,000)
Coach: Ewen McKenzie
Season 2010: Fifth (P13, W8, L5, BP7, 39Pts)
Best finish: Champions (1994, 1995)
2011 squad: Albert Anae, Will Chambers, Quade Cooper, Ben Daley, Rod Davies, Anthony Faingaa, Saia Faingaa, James Horwill, Will Genia, Liam Gill, James Hanson, Michael Harris, Scott Higginbotham, Greg Holmes, Leroy Houston, Van Humphries, Peter Hynes, Digby Ioane, Ben Lucas, Luke Morahan, Ed Quirk, Radike Samo, Jake Schatz, Guy Shepherdson, Dom Shipperley, Rob Simmons, Kimami Sitauti, James Slipper, Ben Tapuai, Lei Tomiki, Adam Wallace-Harrison
Season Preview: Expectations are high at Suncorp this year for the first time in a long time. And with reason. Even Waratahs fans got off their feet and cheered the Reds style of rugby last season.
It was bold, thrilling and even better it was successful. And with almost exactly the same list again this season, but with the huge addition of captain James Horwill who missed 2010 after a knee reconstruction, the Reds will push for a finals spot, no doubt.
After almost a decade of woe for Reds fans 2010 was a breath of fresh air and it was the bravado of their backs, specifically stand-in skipper and half, Will Genia, and five-eighth Quade Cooper that ignited the team and the rugby-loving public. They will again be at the forefront of what could be, fitness prevailing, one of the most devastating backlines in the competition.
Will Chambers made a good fist of his first year in rugby and could well fill the No.12 jersey. If he has powerhouse Digby Ioane outside him at 13 then they could score tries at will. They will not be the most technically proficient pairing but damn, will they be big, strong and quick.
Rod Davies as well is a weapon. The man is lightning on legs. Hopefully that dodgy hammy holds up and we see more of what this kid has to offer. If fit he is a definite chance of a World Cup spot. Up front the Reds pack looks extremely solid.
They have lost former All Black Daniel Baird and that is a huge hole to fill but there are plenty ready for the chance, Lei Tomiki probably at the front of the pack right now. But the return of Horwill is the real boon for the Reds. He provides steel, mongrel, jumping ability and bone-shattering defence.
There are some huge men in the Reds back, Scott Higginbotham, Leroy Houston and Rob Simmons are young, monstrous and ready to rumble. With a year of confidence-building success behind them the Reds will not be physically outmuscled by anyone in 2011. This is a good Reds team, with an astute coach in Ewen McKenzie, buoyed by their best season in a decade last year.
They will be one of the challengers in 2011. How bout that Tahs-Reds derby this year?
X-factor: The Reds injury plagued backs, Davies and Ioane are dripping in X-factor. Let’s just hope they can both stay on the field this season because if they can they will score try after try after try.
Ioane is already a known quantity through three season, all curtailed by injury. He is a physical specimen, barrel-chested, oak-legged, low to the ground with the snout built for sniffing the line.
If he gets the technical side of outside centre under control he should be Stirling Mortlock’s long-term successor (although Adam Ashley-Cooper is making a fine fist of it at the moment).
Davies burst onto the scene last year and despite a torn hamstring ruling him out of the Wallabies end of season tour he made everyone sit up and take notice.
Arguably the fastest man in Super Rugby he can score from anywhere in the blink of an eye. Have to throw a shout to Higginbotham as well. If he stays on the field all season you will witness the rise of Australia’s next devastating running forward in the mould of Toutai Kefu or Wycliff Palu.
Main man: Maybe main men: Genia and Cooper. Their 2010’s were outstanding, that’s no secret. What is also now widely known is that this pair will be heavily targeted by every set of salivating flankers and hard-headed locks in world rugby. Their scintillating combination almost dragged the Reds into the finals in 2010 and they have promised more of the same this time round.
They will obviously be more heavily marked but they both possess the skill to make things happen in traffic and sneak through even the most diligent defence. If the Reds pack are able to match, or better yet, dominate their opponents then this pair will run riot behind them and the Reds will live up to all the expectation and hype.
Projected finish: Fourth
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.
New South Wales could have re-taken the lead inside the final two and a half minutes, but Bowen, in his starting debut sprayed his…
It was awarded on field, giving the Reds a 24-nil lead, but the TMO quickly intervened identifying the foul play.
In their last game for the season. the Waratahs trailed the Reds 19-nil at the break.
The Reds half was in search of the try line but the Waratahs winger said, no!
In 2007 he was inducted into the Australian Rugby Hall of Fame and in 2013 the IRB Hall of Fame, acknowledging his reputation as one of Australia’s greatest flyhalves.
There is a lot of hope around the country, but there's so much more work still to be done.
