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The Queensland Reds’ finals hopes took a heart-breaking blow across the ditch, as Folau Fakatava – the heir apparent to Aaron Smith – scored a wonderful try in the 80th minute to secure a dramatic 35-30 victory in Dunedin.
Making matters considerably worse for the seventh placed Reds – who must win in Fiji next week to ensure finals footy – they will likely travel north without skippers Liam Wright (dislocated shoulder) and Tate McDermott (concussion protocols), while Connor Vest’s season is over after it was confirmed the lock had broken his neck.
In an entertaining match under the roof, Tom Lynagh – the son of former World Cup-winning Wallaby Michael – gave the Reds a 28-27 lead in the 73rd minute with a long-range penalty.
But the Reds, who earlier scored a scintillating try of the season contender, squandered a chance to wrap up the match as Hunter Paisami failed to pick the scraps up off the deck and knocked on after a big shot in defence forced the ball free near his own 22m line and with less than two minutes to play.
It left the Highlanders one last opportunity, as the 2015 Super Rugby champions shifted the ball right from the scrum.
Step up Fakatava, the lively 23-year-old who made his All Blacks debut last year off the bench. He threw a typically big dummy, fooled Fraser McReight and scooted down the short side to score the match-winning try and send Smith off a winner in his last home game.
The win was the Highlanders’ second straight late victory and it kept their finals hopes alive for another week, as Billy Harmon’s men moved into eighth spot on 23 points.
Folau Fakatava dives over to score the match-winning try against the Queensland Reds at Forsyth Barr Stadium, on May 26, 2023, in Dunedin. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)
“What a finish,” Harmon said. “Unbelievable, we were desperate, we needed that win.
“In the locker-room, we talked about that we needed to keep fighting in the second half. The physicality was there, we just needed to execute and stay in it and that’s what we did.
“Awesome way to send off ‘Nuggy’ [Smith] in his final home game, but it’s also a few of the other boys finals game as well, so it’s awesome we could do it for everyone.”
Jona Nareki Highlanders celebrates scoring a first half try against the Queensland Reds at Forsyth Barr Stadium, on May 26, 2023, in Dunedin. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)
A victory would have seen the Reds seal their place in the Super Rugby finals, but their season is now hanging by a thread ahead of the final regular season match of the year against the Drua in Fiji.
“It was pretty frantic out there,” McReight said.
“There were a lot of moving parts. Credit to the Highlanders, who were able to get the job done at the money time. Unfortunately that’s a big loss for us.
“It’s tough, Fiji in Fiji. But the one thing going for us is that’s an eight-day turnaround, so we’ll use that extra day to recover, rest up, prepare and do a job in Fiji.’
The Reds raced out of the blocks as Wright burst onto a good inside ball from James O’Connor to score in the seventh minute.
But the inspirational leader’s night ended as he ran over the top of Smith to score, with the blindside flanker dislocating his shoulder.
It didn’t seem to matter early though, as Harry Wilson broke free on his own line to help set up one of the tries of the year.
A typical hard-running line from Wilson saw the No.8 break clear, before he dummied and beat the fullback before linking up with his teammate O’Connor. The utility Wallaby did well not to go in touch and managed to offload where the ball moved from five sets of hands before Jake Upfield scored a sensational try.
But the Reds’ lead was cut to seven quickly as Jona Nareki scored after some good footwork.
After a clever kick from Freddie Burns to earn the Highlanders a five metre scrum, the home side levelled the score at 14-14 as Hugh Renton played the short side from a scrum.
More pain was to come for the Reds, as lock Vest and halfback McDermott were forced off in quick succession with concussions in the minutes before half-time.
The Reds however took a 21-14 lead into half-time, as a poor clearing kick from Nareki gave the visitors one last chance to post points before half-time. It was followed up by a terrible misread from the Highlanders’ front-row as Suliasi Vunivalu broke through easily to score under the posts.
Two penalty goals from Lynagh, who was faultless on his return to the No.10 jersey and from the tee, extended the Reds’ lead out to 27-14 after 56 minutes.
Harry Wilson was one of the Reds’ best at Forsyth Barr Stadium, on May 26, 2023, in Dunedin. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)
But two tries in 10 minutes to Saula Mau and Connor Garden-Bachop – the second of which looked very dubious after a forward pass and knock-on were let go by Brendon Pickerill – saw the Highlanders go in front as Sam Gilbert’s faultless night from the tee continued.
There were no replays of either incident.
Lynagh’s long-range strike looked to have sealed the match for the Reds, but Fakatava, who replaced Smith after 67 minutes, showed his pace and skill by scoring a stunning try to give the Highlanders a memorable win.
McReight, who was one of the Reds’ best, said his side showed their depth and fight but ultimately it wasn’t enough.
“You talk about not being in it, I don’t think that’s true,” he said.
“We’ve got great depth at the Reds. We got put under the test quite early tonight and I think the depth showed. You talk about fight and the Queensland spirit, we’ve got that in spades. We were able to show it tonight, just not as far as we wanted.”
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.