If there is one Super Rugby side built to cope with the card frenzy cutting through the competition at the moment, it would have to be the Reds.
Reduced to 14 men midway through the first half after Tuaina Tualima was red-carded for an ugly cleanout on James Slipper, and then again in the final minutes after Taniela Tupou earned a yellow for being offside at the ruck, the Queensland side would dig deep as they have all year, refusing to allow the Brumbies a sniff of a try that would have swung the match, and even scoring one themselves through Fraser McReight.
In contrast, the Brumbies, victims of the crackdown themselves when Rob Valetini and Cam Clark controversially both saw yellow one after another to leave them a man down for most of the second half, couldn’t hold out. James O’Connor linked with Filipo Daugunu in the 68th minute to seal a 21-7 victory, and extend the Reds’ recent dominance at Suncorp Stadium over fellow Australian sides.
Even then, it could have been far more comfortable, the Reds butchering several gilt-edged chances during the match, none worse than a knock on which robbed Daugunu of a near-certain try just minutes before making amends.
But having lost co-captain Liam Wright to an ankle injury in the warm-up to join a host of key players ruled out through injury, this was a gutsy win by the Reds, and enough to leave acting skipper Tate McDermott full of pride.
“The strength in this group’s our depth, it’s something ‘Thorny’ and Sam Cordingley have been building over the years, and I’m so proud to be a Queenslander, particularly tonight,” he told Stan Sport after the match.
“Regardless of who we pull in, and everyone says this, they do their job. It’s evident tonight – poor old Tuaina got a red, which is unfortunate, but like we’ve said, we just get by.
“We just fight, we keep going, regardless of who we have on the paddock they do their job and they make Queensland proud.”
Summing up the Reds’ unmatched desperation was a brutal hit from Hunter Paisami on Nic White late in the match, that left the Brumbies veteran gasping for air.
But the major story of the night was the continued crackdown, which saw four cards handed out by Angus Gardner, most of them sparking debate.
Tualima’s red card was justified, having made head contact on Slipper, but Valetini’s for a high hit on McDermott received widespread condemnation, with former great Tim Horan adamant it should have been a penalty only, given it wasn’t clear whether the Brumby had even touched the head.
The increasingly harsh laws surrounding head contact have resulted in a spate of cards this season, which only escalated on Saturday night – and while best man afield McReight acknowledged the players need to take some responsibility, he also maintained the crackdown is bad for the game and the fans.
“Obviously there is a crackdown at the moment, but as players, we probably have to do better,” McReight told Stan Sport.
“We have to learn and get used to those new rules.
“Moving forward, I’d personally like to see the game flow a bit more and be a bit more entertaining for the fans. I know if I was a watcher I’d like to see the game flow a bit more, but I think as players we can take a big part to improve that.”
Fraser McReight of the Reds scores a try. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
However, McReight was full of praise for his fellow Reds, saying the key to victory was their desire to hit the second half full of steam despite being a player down.
“We came out of the sheds at half time really wanting to win the first 10-15 minutes and gain momentum. I think we did that through some great execution,” he said.
“We’re pretty used to getting cards by now, we actually say we play better with 14 or 13 men, which if you can look back in the past couple of weeks we probably have done.
“We’re pretty comfortable in that position, so we just knew we had to stick to our structures, our gameplans. We have really smart players who can adapt on the go, and I think we did that.”
Less impressed with the effort was coach Brad Thorn, who urged his team to keep improving before the true test of their season lies against New Zealand teams when border restrictions finally enable travel.
“A lot of opportunities were left out there, so there’s a bit of frustration to be honest,” Thorn said after the match.
“I love what the guys brought, but that’s what’s expected as well. I’m seeking perfection on stuff.
“This competition isn’t AU this year, it’s Trans-Tasman. There’s Kiwi teams to face soon, and we want to compete. We’ll continue to grow – maybe I’m just a bit of a grumpy arse!”
Having struggled mightily in last season’s Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition after claiming the Australian leg of the competition, Horan knows that good form against the other Aussie sides doesn’t necessarily bode well on the next step up.
But speaking on Stan Sport, Justin Harrison maintained the Reds could prove a real challenge to any New Zealand outfit they come across.
“Last year, we saw the Queensland Reds win the competition, then disappointingly not take that form into the Trans-Tasman crossover,” Harrison said.
“Brad Thorn’s referencing, ‘Kiwi sides are coming, we need to be better, we need to keep growing’. They’re a year wiser, they’re a year smarter, they’ve got a spine now, they’ve got some rockstar players in that squad…”
An upcoming bye gives the Reds the perfect chance to rest, recuperate and welcome some returning players back into the fold, ahead of the tough road to come.
Panther
Roar Rookie
Agree that the true test in this year's comp. comes when we face those from across the ditch. What we've seen from our playing one another thus far does not fill one with any genuine (or false) confidence. Let's hope that the yellow and red cards stay in the ref's pocket with penalties being a more popular choice, but, certainly not the TMO show that we've become used to.
piru
Roar Rookie
right, thanks for clarifying
Dyskolos
Roar Rookie
Funny. Nobody seems to have noticed that White was not in possession of the ball when he was tackled. Look carefully at the "Hunter by name, Hunter by nature" Twitter video above, particularly the third angle shown at the 15 second mark. When McDermott makes contact with White the ball is still in the air. It then bounces off Paisami's hip just as he hits White. Should have been a penalty to the Brumbies. And no, I'm not a Brumbies supporter.
WEST
Roar Guru
There’s simply to many muppets running around thinking they can get away with smashing someone in the head! Maybe in the 70s-80s that would fly. Not today, these guys aren’t very smart! It’s broadcast around the world with a dozen different camera angles! Obviously these players getting carded are just dumb. NH is on to this.. There’s a few reasons for this.. One, they’re learning to control their discipline. Two, the rugby players skills and technique is far better! SH rugby players still have this dumb idea of running in and throwing themselves on the ground, I’m not saying players aren’t doing this up North.. But the skills of the NH players are developing way ahead of a lot of players down south. Are they smarter up North?? Seems to look that way.. judging by the volume of cards being dealt out lately! The coaches need to take some of the responsibility! This isn’t new.. running in and shouldering some poor bastrd on the ground. All of these SR teams have forwards coaches.. WTF are they training these buffoon's! There’s a serious lack of skills in the forwards.. mostly. Going off your feet is poor technique, running in like an idiot.. is just dumb technique.
savant
Roar Rookie
No. but rarely can you catch the ball when it is going away from you when you are going backwards. Its possible sure. Freakish but possible.
wigeye
Guest
Im hearing you last night I tended to 150 sheep in the shearing shed
Objective
Guest
The Qantas Wallabies will never let that happen ;)
soapit
Roar Guru
no need at all mate. was just talking about the refs vs players part.
piru
Roar Rookie
Are you contending that you cannot go backwards and catch a ball?
piru
Roar Rookie
Fair, I'll cop that - apologies.
soapit
Roar Guru
i dont think it needs to be framed in adversarial terms. everyone is contributing to the issue and can all help in fixing it.
Doctordbx
Roar Rookie
Should be 10 metres of territory or 1 minute of play.
piru
Roar Rookie
Ok well I guess they just should keep getting cards for the same stuff then That'll show them
piru
Roar Rookie
PK I think even that is stretching no one would argue that the player on the weekend was intending to knock the ball on - he was trying to catch it. Regardless, a knock on is already a scrum against, what real value is there in delving into trying to guess the intent - just award the scrum and move on, imo. If a defender manages to get a hand on the ball and spoil a pass, thus giving up a scrum rather than a try, isn't that just defence? I mean we must be the only sport that punishes spoiling passes by defenders.
ForceFan
Roar Rookie
Inconsistent reffing and letting cheats propser = no crowds also. They're professional players. Give a pre-match warning in the shed and penalise transgressors from the first whistle. Some teams push the envelope from the first ruck and detract from my enjoyment of the game.
Rebel334
Roar Rookie
Im just after some commonsense QLD red card = clear as daylight and deserves a massive suspension Valetini yellow = stupid and shouldn't remotely come to been carded TMO calling back play from 1min earlier for something that wasn't dangerous = an issue with the game officiating Deliberate knockdowns are a silly rule in general Tupou yellow = should be a yellow all day Problem is there is extremes on all ends. Future litigation against the sport isnt as clear cut as many think, former Newcastle Knights player James McManus had his case against the Knights dismissed. There is so much grey on both sides of the spetrum but we keep looking for black and white solutions
Frank
Guest
Stop whining! :)
Hoy
Roar Guru
Advantage is a tough one to work out... some teams march 30 metres upfield, and botch it, to come back and get a penalty... its weird... advantage is taken when they use the ball... that is it for me. If you are tackled within 10 metres of the issue, then no advantage, but once you shuffle it out, or forwards... that is it. You have taken your advantage, don't bugger it up.
Jimbo81
Roar Rookie
What about when the referees were clamping down on neck rolls but NZ were allowed to prematurely end the career of David Pocock with multiple dangerous neck rolls per match with impunity. I look at the Trans Tasman let of the contest with a growing trepidation because I know the NZ teams won’t be held to anywhere near the same scrutiny. Their tries will be infield awarded without TMO scrutiny while Aussie tries will be dissected up to five minutes before; Aussie teams will be policed at the ruck while kiwis will be allowed side entry, hands in the ruck, contesting the ball off their feet, holding players on the ground, cleaning out well pack the ruck; their halfbacks will be untouchable while the referees will call “the ball was out”; we will have to be inside while the kiwi rush defence is allowed to start their run several meters in front of ‘last man’s feet’. It’s at the point that we need to fly in international referees for all Trans Tasman games. The kiwi refs can’t help themselves and the Aussie refs ping the Aussie sides MORE to desperately appear impartial. It’s definitely NOT a level playing field.
Double Agent
Guest
Valetini is a 6. Samu is the 8.