Queensland Reds question Waratahs' tactics

Queensland have questioned the Waratahs’ tactics and refereeing complaints in the aftermath of the Reds’ dramatic Super Rugby triumph at Suncorp Stadium.

NSW skipper Phil Waugh was seething after the Reds’ 19-15 win on Saturday night, accusing stand-in whistle-blower Ian Smith of failing to adequately reward his side’s dominant scrum.

Missing young Wallabies prop James Slipper, Queensland’s pack were smashed at the set piece but dug deep and hung on desperately for a 20-minute period in the second half when the visitors were camped inside their 22.

After two Waratahs scrum penalties and two resets 5m out in the 51st minute, Smith warned Reds skipper James Horwill he would whistle a penalty try if the home side collapsed another scrum.

But it never came as Queensland’s reserve front-row held strong and even proceeded to disrupt the NSW scrum at other pivotal times in a bare-knuckle showdown.

Waugh had several opportunities to point to the sticks for the three points on offer from penalties but persisted in opting for scrums in the hope of getting at least five points.

“It was frustrating,” said Waugh, who indicated a penalty try should have been awarded.

“We were clearly the dominant scrum … and it’s not a game of evening up one team to the other, you have got to reward dominance.”

Reds officials would not respond publicly to Waugh’s criticism, but privately they felt the Waratahs skipper’s comments were a bid to justify his own decision not to kick for goal.

In the end, the Waratahs did relent, after Waugh was replaced, and Kurtley Beale slotted his fifth penalty to close to 16-15 with eight minutes left.

But the Reds managed to earn a late penalty of their own in a rare foray into the NSW half and Quade Cooper nailed a 45m attempt to score all 19 points in the drought-breaking win.

Waugh defended his calls as his scrum “had the ascendancy”, and also bemoaned his side’s inability to convert pressure into points.

“It’s just one of those tricky ones,” he said. “You have to back yourself and you have to back being rewarded and you have to take points out after making those decisions.”

Rather than lenient refereeing, Reds coach Ewen McKenzie felt NSW’s untimely loss of powerful hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau (shoulder) was critical to the visitors losing their scrummaging momentum.

Immediately following Polota-Nau’s replacement soon after the Wallabies No.2 was physically ill, the Waratah pack was significantly weakened.

“You have to look at the personnel and Tatafu Polota-Nau is a very influential player,” McKenzie said. “When he’s on the field he makes a difference.

“When he was sick in the in-goal area it was the longest injury break of all time and they were reluctant to take him off.

“They spurned penalties and took the scrum options and were really putting the pressure on us. Maybe it would have been different if they had used a different strategy but I can understand why they did it.

“It was edge-of-the-cliff stuff – fingernails on the edge of the cliff – but the guys didn’t relax and forced errors and forced their way back into the game.”