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High-flying Reds must brace for ‘mindset game’ against Aussie rivals
The Queensland Reds have captured the attention of rugby fans across the Pacific with a stunning run of form during the opening four rounds, which included a win over the Chiefs in Brisbane.
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But the Reds, who are currently second on the Super Rugby Pacific standings, will need to brace themselves for “a mindset game” as they prepare to take on the Western Force in Perth.
The Reds are overwhelming favourites ahead of their trip out west, with their upcoming opponents the Force still searching for their first win of the season.
Playmaker Ben Donaldson and others have performed well in glimpses, but as a collective the Force have struggled to keep up with other sides for the entire 80-minute battle.
With everything pointing towards another win in round five for the Reds, former Wallaby Morgan Turinui has explained why this is an important matchup for the Queenslanders.
“That’s also indicative of the group that there’s a little bit more depth at the Reds there,” Turinui explained on Stan Sports’ The Call Up when asked about the return of Hunter Paisami.
“Lots of the players are in-form, selection isn’t the easiest thing and it’s a very settled Reds team from (coach) Les Kiss.
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“It’s a little bit like the Blues, this is a mindset game for the Reds. They’re overwhelming favourites. They’ve got to go to Perth, which some teams have struggled with.
“It’s the mindset they go over with a Force team that are becoming more and more desperate to show that there’s quality over there.”
Fraser McReight has been especially impressive during the opening month of the season with the Wallaby recording an incredible four try assists during last week’s win over the Rebels.
Match Summary 
0
Penalty Goals
1
4
Tries
8
3
Conversions
5
0
Drop Goals
0
117
Carries
149
2
Line Breaks
12
14
Turnovers Lost
12
5
Turnovers Won
6
The flanker stole the show along with lock Seru Uru, who became the first Queensland lock to score two tries in a match since the inaugural Super Rugby season in 1996.
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While the Reds were practically perfect during their 53-26 round three win, the season-ending injury to Issac Henry is a big blow – but Hunter Paisami has come into the starting side as a direct replacement.
“It’s not just over the ditch over your side that’s been keeping an eye on how the Reds are playing, it’s over here (in New Zealand) as well,” Rugby World Cup-winning All Black Mils Muliaina had said earlier.
“They just keep getting better and better.
“To win like they did against the Rebels last week, that was huge.
“(Tom) Lynagh comes back into it. (Hunter) Paisami, all he adds is a little bit of physicality and also a bit of steel within that midfield.
“They continue this, the Reds are looking really good.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Why 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!
3 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 …
31 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.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
31 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
31 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
31 Go to comments