FxPro Super Rugby round 18
Queensland Reds 32 - 16 HSBC Waratahs
The HSBC Waratahs’ hopes of an end of season rally were quashed tonight, as the Queensland Reds secured the bonus point win that sees them progress to the FxPro Super Rugby finals.
Summing up his team’s performance after the match, HSBC Waratahs’ Head Coach Michael Foley said, “The scoreboard tells the tale of our poor execution in our own 22.
“Tonight, three tries to the Reds came from our poor execution from set piece, then there was a fourth try where we allowed Will (Genia) to sneak down that blindside.”
Despite trailing by just one point at the break, courtesy of a 28th minute try from Drew Mitchell, a Bernard Foley penalty and an Adam Ashley-Cooper drop goal, three Reds’ tries in the space of 20 second-half minutes secured victory and ended NSW’s hopes of ending the season with a much-needed confidence boost.
The loss means the HSBC Waratahs finish the season with a disappointing eight straight losses but Foley praised the side for fighting until the end. “One of the areas I was most pleased about was, in a season like this when you don’t win the games that you would want to win, that the team doesn’t fracture and that it keeps fighting.
“Every team has a life beyond a game and beyond a season. It’s very important for this team to learn from this and I think the quality of the man in this team will allow it to.”
His sentiments were echoed by captain Benn Robinson. “It’s a good sign that, where this team is at the moment, how tight it is and how strong it is.”
Despite losing a number of those games in very tight circumstances, Foley warned against underestimating the work that needed to be done. “No-one should think that because the margins in a number of our games have been very fine, that just a little bit more will be enough.
“The distance between where we are and where we need to go will require significant sacrifice and we all need to embrace that. We need to work particularly hard to make something out of what has happened this year.”
With the Brumbies’ loss to the Blues earlier in the day leaving the Reds needing a bonus point win to guarantee finals qualification, expectations for a Suncorp thriller were high. And right from the opening whistle, the end to end action began, with Reds No. 8 Scott Higginbotham crossing for their first try with only three minutes on the clock and Mike Harris’ conversion giving his side a 7-0 lead.
HSBC Waratahs’ flyhalf Bernard Foley knocked over a penalty just five minutes later and despite flanker Chris Alcock going close to securing a five-pointer, the boot of Dom Shipperley preventing him from grounding it, the score remained at 7-3 for the rest of the first quarter.
When NSW prop Paddy Ryan was sinbinned for repeated infringements at the ruck in the 24th minute, the Reds wasted no time in capitalising, Liam Gill adding a second try within 60 seconds.
A converted try from Drew Mitchell, playing in his 100th Super Rugby match, courtesy of a grubber kick from Foley put the visitors back in it with the score 12-8 after 27 minutes. A drop goal from Adam Ashley-Cooper (his first of the season) edged the visitors to within one point before the break, only for a NSW lineout error to allow Reds prop James Slipper to cross for the Reds’ third try in the 44th minute, extending the lead to six points.
The Reds’ crucial fourth try came in the 51st minute, with Shipperley capitalising on an HSBC Waratahs’ knock on to dive over in the right hand corner. Harris’ conversion took the score to 24-11 and when the visitors lost flanker Chris Alcock to injury just two minutes later, NSW hopes seemed to be slipping away.
Genia’s first try of the night gave the Reds an 18 point cushion but disappointment followed when his halfback partner Quade Cooper was sin binned (and white carded) for a 64th minute high tackle on Berrick Barnes that saw the latter leave the field.
Barnes’s replacement, Tom Carter, made an immediate impact, crossing for the HSBC Waratahs’ second try within 10 minutes of taking to the field. Replacement scrum half Brendan McKibbin’s attempt to add the extras went wide and it was left to Harris to score the final points of the game, a 78th minute penalty that sealed the Reds’ rise to the top of the Australian Conference and with it a guaranteed finals berth.
Queensland Reds 32 (tries: Higginbotham, Gill, Slipper, Shipperley, Genia; cons: Harris 2; pens: Harris) d HSBC Waratahs 16 (tries: Mitchell, Carter ; pens: Foley; Drop goals: Ashley-Cooper)
Half-time: Queensland Reds 12 – 11 HSBC Waratahs
HSBC Waratahs: 15. Adam Ashley-Cooper (Northern Suburbs), 14. Lachie Turner (Eastwood) , 13. Rob Horne (Southern Districts), 12. Berrick Barnes (Sydney University), vice captain, 11. Drew Mitchell (Balmain), 10. Bernard Foley (Sydney University), 9. Grayson Hart (Southern Districts), 8. Dave Dennis (Sydney University), 7. Chris Alcock (Eastwood), 6. Dean Mumm (Sydney University), 5. Kane Douglas (Southern Districts), 4. Sitaleki Timani (Southern Districts), 3. Paddy Ryan (Sydney University), 2. Tatafu Polota-Nau (Parramatta), 1. Benn Robinson (Eastwood), captain
Replacements: 16. John Ulugia (Southern Districts), 17. Jeremy Tilse (Sydney University), 18. Lopeti Timani (Southern Districts), 19. Jono Jenkins (Sydney University), 20. Brendan McKibbin (Eastern Suburbs), 21. Tom Carter (Sydney University), 22. Tom Kingston (Sydney University)
Queensland Reds: 15. Luke Morahan, 14. Dom Shipperley, 13. Anthony Faingaa, 12. Mike Harris, 11. Digby Ioane, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Will Genia (c), 8. Scott Higginbotham, 7. Liam Gill, 6. Jake Schatz, 5. Adam Wallace-Harrison (vc), 4. Rob Simmons, 3. James Slipper, 2. Saia Faingaa, 1. Greg Holmes
Replacements: 16. James Hanson, 17. Ben Daley, 18. Radike Samo, 19. Jarrad Butler , 20. Beau Robinson, 21. Ben Lucas, 22. Ben Tapuai
Yellow cards: Paddy Ryan (23-33 mins), Quade Cooper (64 – 74)
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Man of the match: Will Genia
Crowd: 41,533