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Ex-Wallaby compares 2024 Reds to Quade’s 2011 Super Rugby champions
Following the Reds’ promising start to the season, former Wallaby Stephen Hoiles has compared the current squad to the history-making Super Rugby champions of 2011.
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Halves Will Genia and Quade Cooper led the way for the Queensland Reds as they helped deliver the state’s first-ever Super Rugby title with a win over Dan Carter’s Crusaders 13 years ago.
The Reds have managed to win just one Super Rugby AU title since, but even the quality of that championship side might not compare to the 2024 crop of Reds talent.
Following their win over Australian rivals the Melbourne Rebels, the Reds are second on the Super Rugby Pacific standings by a slight margin behind the ladder-leading Hurricanes.
Queensland are 3-1 after the first four rounds of the campaign, with their sole defeat to date coming in a golden point thriller against the undefeated Canes in Super Round.
With new coach Les Kiss at the helm, a young Queensland side which includes Fraser McReight and Josh Flook are bringing career-best form to the Super Rugby Pacific table.
“You’re seeing the best of what Brad Thorn did with the group but you’re also seeing why they needed to go in a different direction because they had so much more ability in them,” Stephen Hoiles said on Stan Sports’ Between Two Posts.
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“They look like, I’m going out early here, but they look similar to the skillset that the 2011 Reds had. You know, the Quades and the Will Genia’s – they like to play a free-spirited style.
“You’ve almost got to unleash them a little bit.
“I feel how Brad Thorn coached it was about being tough, physical and just repetitive and doing the same thing. They’ve got the best in work ethic out of Brad Thorn; now they’re adding that element of risk but it’s risk with detail.
“They’re coaching according to their playing group which is always the most important thing to do.”
Going into round four, there was plenty of interest surrounding the Reds’ matchup with the Rebels. It was a top-three clash that pitted some of the nation’s best against one another.
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Lock Seru Uru scored a first-half double as the Reds ran up a commanding 33-7 half-time lead, and a strong end to the second term saw them hold on for a big win.
With 19-year-old Harry McLaughlin-Phillips in the No. 10 jersey, the Reds made a statement with the 26-53 demolition of their Aussie foe down south.
The Reds are set to travel to Perth later this week ahead of a meeting with the winless Western Force at HBF Park on Saturday afternoon (local time).
“They’ve got the Force this week, they’re over in Perth this week,” Hoiles added. “If they get a win over there, which… you’d assume with the way things are going they should beat (the Force), they’ll come back to 30, 35,000 (supporters) at Suncorp.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Yes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
34 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
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