Queensland Reds vs NSW Waratahs: Super Rugby Pacific live scores, blog

Bit of a partisan comment (but that is probably just the perspective from my virtual seat). But then again what would you expect from a blend...

Yeah, you can see how much he wants it. Just a touch more calmness to reduce the errors. For a guy as new to wing as he is, he's doing absolutely brilliantly.

Yes I turned over to the coronation and rockwiz

If it hasn’t got it already, Rugby needs a post match video review system, looking into player conduct. Too many dark incidents in this game ( IMHO)

Townsville is home for the Cowboys. Everyone else is a visitor.

I have Stan for one reason only. I’m paying $36 a month all year for rugby. If the get as few as 10,000 to watch super rugby that’s $4,320,000 a year without any included add revenue.

Where are the McDermott fans to blame McReight for stopping a perfect pass?

The 20 minutes I managed to see was like a kids game. No real plan just everyone having a go themselves and hoping something happened. As an example the Brumbies had a lineout 50m out, won the ball and set a maul. This resulted in a penalty, a penalty goal and a losing bonus point. An actual plan to achieve an outcome. I don’t see that from either reds or tahs. People trying something and the team hoping an individual breaks the game open.

The stats also don’t show why he has more tackles. Are they directing play at him to make him tackle? Does one defend in a closer channel away from ball runners but able to pilfer? Horan pulled out the stat that Wilson has the most carries and the most post contact meters in the comp. If he pulled this stat out at the dinner table he would need to explain himself further. I’d hope the forward that carries the most has the most post contact meters. It doesn’t actually make him the best carrier, the 2 or 3 carries I saw after that stat ended with Wilson being stopped for basically 0 meters post contact, and slow ball.

Intriguing comp! Gees I wish the ref's were up to standard.

You compare apples with oranges and say one is better than the other... that to me is partisan. The sides use the two players diffferently. Based on this game you can say Hooper doesnt defend as well or run as well or, or... but i dont see it like that. I see it as how he is bei g utilised basef on what the team needs. You say FM had more critical moments. Hooper turned over FM which led to a try. Id say that was critical. FM got some nice turnovers... true and is what his team expects from him, but he is not defending the entire freakin line like Hooper is being asked to. Anyway I have expressed it all in my post above. You dont have to agree of course. It is just the way I see it as opposed to some virtual game within the game which FM won against MH.

True, but Townsville is hardly home. Unless they thought the roar of the crowd/cows would get them over.

Home and being ahead of a misfiring Tahs presumably. Obviously, the injury to Flook happened late so wasn’t part of the considerations when framing the market

You dont have to be partisan to see that FM had a lot of critical involvements compared to Hooper. Hooper did not play poorly, just that he lacks the cut through that FM has. MHs hole running lacks the impact it once had, is not the defender he once (but still makes a lot of tackles) was and is not as good at pilfering as FM. FM makes metres, links well and gets turn overs. You can see it in the stats FM better on attack and turn overs and MH get through more defense. It just depends what you need from your 7. You see a similar thing with Harry Wilson and Gleeson. People rate Gleeson but Harry runs more, makes more metres and tackles more often.

I don't see how anyone, bookie or fan, could see having to put Taj Anan at 13, JOC at 12 and Creighton at 10 because of injuries and would think they could do well with their tight 5 going nowhere is beyond me. Maybe over confidence in being ahead slightly on the table.

A lot of good stuff here. The Tahs tight 5 not good enough to create space for a very good backrow. Whilst McReight shone at the breakdown, I’d have given the rest of the backrow points to the Tahs. Hooper, Gleeson and Seu, then Gamble and to a lesser extent Harris, outplayed the Reds pretty comprehensively.

I’m pretty sure before the game plenty did. The bookies had the Tahs as 5/4 outsiders and the tipping here was heavily favouring Reds. Now they lost, they’re hopeless and the Tahs slightly less so.

I think what Hooper used to do was break sides open. He was a menace, but he hasn’t been doing that for a while, rather they have been putting him on the wing when he is taking a break from defence a complete waste. To be honest as an AB supporter I rate him ahead of a Josh Kronfield type player which he resembles. For me he is the modern day equivalent and is why Dalton Papaii has such great respect for him as do others. But he hasn’t done it since coming back and I am not sure McReight has his speed and ability to move aa fast and cover as much rerritory laterally. All Hooper is using it for these days as you say is to defend. He may have lost a yard of pace which brings him back to the pack. I miss the old Hooper who one minute was running full noise into Vermeulan stopping him dead in his tracks to moments later tearing down the side of a ruck and showing a clean pair of heels… maybe the years have caught up to him, but equally the Tahs are unable to draw in opposition forwards and creat the space which he typically exploits. I don’t think Wright or the Rebels 7 would cut it on the international stage. Who amongst the loosies can break the line. Hiooper is not doing it for the Tahs at the moment. I wonder with a better pack arpund him with players like Frost and Rodda and Valentini and a decent hard six and a mobile and physical fron row, they can unleash the Hooper of old. These days it feels like he has to cover for the multitude of deficiencies in the Tahs side, same as McReight is having to do for the Reds. It’s massively frustrating to watch players of their talent being reined in on the back of their respective teams weaknesses. Put them in a NZ side like the Chiefs or Blues… they would be different players. But either way I think they are world class players and can hold their own.

We're all also rans in this competition.

:happy: :stoked: