Roar Guru
The Queensland Reds have prolonged Australian rugby’s horror run against New Zealand opposition, falling 36-12 at Suncorp Stadium to the Chiefs.
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Final score
Reds 12
Chiefs 36
Having experienced back to back losses, the Queensland Reds would like to get back to the winning circle when come up against the skilful Waikato Chiefs this Saturday at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 7:45pm AEST.
After being dominated by fellow Australian teams, the Waratahs and the Brumbies, Brad Thorn’s men would be hoping for a much-improved performance.
The Reds have been disappointing this campaign and to add to their woes, they have not defeated a New Zealand team in two years.
The return of former Australian legend, George Smith albeit at the ripe-old age of 37 will add some interest to the contest.
It also marks the occasion of 1000th capped match for the Queensland club. Resigning boom Wallaby forward Lukhan Tui and lock Angus Blyth earlier this week will provide further impetus for the Reds to have a strong game in front of their home crowd.
Even with a massive injury toll especially in the forwards, the Chiefs are going to be a difficult proposition for the Reds. Before their loss to the high-flying Hurricanes, the Chiefs were undefeated in five matches.
The Chiefs have made four changes to their forward pack with the inclusion of Karl Tu’inikuafe, Liam Polwart, Tylor Ardron and Pita Gus Sowakula.
Coach Colin Cooper has made it very clear that the squad is extremely motivated after the loss and will be hoping to convert more opportunities than what they did against the Hurricanes.
A telling statistic between the two teams is in the department of points scored with the Chiefs scoring twice the amount of points than the Reds this season.
Prediction
The Reds as with other Australian teams have not beaten a New Zealand rugby team in 2 years with a 0-34 record. And this is expected continue with the Chiefs to win in a tight contest.
Chiefs by 7.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 5:30pm AEST.