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Highlanders shutout: Reds starting to ‘deal with’ hype and expectation
The Queensland Reds put a “frustrating few weeks” behind them with a dominant 31-nil win over the Highlanders in Brisbane on Friday. It was the Reds’ first shutout win in Super Rugby since before the new millennium.
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Following a run of disappointing defeats to the Western Force, Brumbies and Moana Pasifika, the Reds got their Super Rugby Pacific campaign back on track with one of the best performances by any team this season.
Queensland struck first through Wallabies centre Hunter Paisami after just two minutes, but little did rugby fans either at Suncorp Stadium or at home watching on TV know that that was just the start of a historic win.
Match Summary 
1
Penalty Goals
0
4
Tries
0
4
Conversions
0
0
Drop Goals
0
112
Carries
152
6
Line Breaks
2
13
Turnovers Lost
12
8
Turnovers Won
4
Milestone man Ryan Smith, replacement Lawson Creighton and Wallaby Suliasi Vunivalu all added to the score as the Queenslanders registered a bonus point win which keeps them inside the top eight for at least another two weeks.
“I’ve been saying it for years, they just don’t have enough talent for five teams,” former Wallaby Stephen Hoiles quipped on Stan Sports’ Between Two Posts.
“It was a great turnaround from the Reds. They’ve had a frustrating few weeks after jumping out of the blocks earlier in the season.
“Probably starting to deal with the expectations that they had on their shoulders and rightly so, they played some really good footy in the first few weeks.
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“The scoreline probably doesn’t reflect the game to be fair. It wasn’t the prettiest of games. They were the better side easily but I didn’t think it was going to be 31-nil.”
Looking at the scoreboard alone, there’s a lot to like about the 31 points the Reds put on their New Zealand opponents. It’s the sign of a team that have genuine depth and quality across the board.
When you consider the Reds were missing Wallabies duo Tate McDermott and Fraser McReight through suspension, and that Seru Uru and Josh Flook were out injured, those 31 points are that much more impressive from the Queenslanders.
But if defence wins championships, as the old sports adage goes, then the zero in the Highlanders’ column is the big talking point.
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The Reds’ defensive wall was impenetrable, as fullback Jock Campbell showed in the first half. Connor Garden-Bachop attempted a chip and chase to get the Highlanders on the board, but Campbell got back, made the tackle, and won a penalty at the breakdown as well.
That was a moment of brilliance that would’ve impressed coach Les Kiss.
“What was good (was) the desperation of the Reds defence,” former Australia international Morgan Turinui explained.
“The Highlanders had their shots, I think it was pretty even 22-entires until about the 60 minute mark and the Highlanders’ in the second-half especially had a mountain of possession.
“When you look at it, when you say no Tate (McDermott), no Fraser (McReight), no (Josh) Flook, no (Seru) Uru.. they lose (Jordan) Petaia early which is a blow.
“They found a way to really dominate the game.
“Once again it says a lot about the Highlanders this season. We’ve now worked out where we’re at.”
Comments on RugbyPass
My heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to commentsBest team ever…. To have played? These guys are still pressure chokers. Came nowhere when it counted. What a joke
71 Go to commentsMusk defends anonymous terrorism, fascism, threats against individuals and children etc etc But a Rugby club account….lock ‘em up!!!
1 Go to commentsActually the era defining moment came a few years earlier. February 2002 to be precise, when Michael D Higgins as finance minister at the time introduced his sports persons tax relief bill to the dial. As the politicians of the day stated “It seems to be another daft K Club frolic born in Kildare amongst the well-paid professional jockeys with whom the Minister plays golf” and that the scheme represented “a savage uncaring vision of Ireland and one that should be condemned”. The irfu and Leinster would be nowhere near the position they are in today without this key component of the finances.
5 Go to commentsIt is crystal clear that people who make such threats on line should be tried and imprisoned. Those with responsibility in social media companies who don’t facilitate this should be convicted. In real life, I have free speech to approach someone like Reinach and verbally threaten him. I am risking a conviction or a slap but I could do it. In the old days, If someone anonymously threatened someone by letter the police would ask and use evidence from the postal system. Unlike the Post, social media companies have complete instant and legal access to the content in social media. They make money from the data, billions. Yet, they turn a blind eye to terrorism, Nazi-ism and industrial levels of threats against individuals including their address and childrens schools being published online all from ananoymous accounts not real people. They claim free speech. Free speech for anonymous trolls/voilent thugs threatening people under false names? The fault is with the perps but also social media companies who think anonymous personas posting death threats constitutes free speech.
2 Go to commentsSo if this ain’t the best Irish team ever then who exactly is? I don’t remember any other Irish team being this good & winning a series in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Yes I may rip them often for 8 X QF RWC exits & twice not even making it to the QF, but they’re a damn good team who many think can only improve, including me!
71 Go to commentsNot a squeek out of Leinster for weeks about this match. So quiet. The first team have been quitely building for this encounter under Nienaber’s direction. All fresh, all highly motivated. They are expecting a season’s best performance from Northhampton. They will match that. They will be fresher and apparently they will have 80,000 out of the 83,000 shouting for them. I do expect Northhampton to turn up big time. Not to be missed. On a tangent it is evident how the loss of a few Premiership teams has in some respect helped other Premiership teams and England. More quality over less teams makes the teams better, which has a knock on effect on England. Not the only factor contributing to England’s rise but one of them.
5 Go to commentsOur very own monster teddy bear Ox😍💪
17 Go to commentsThis is might be the most generalised, entitled, patronising, out-of-pocket cultural indictment on a group of people you’ll ever see on what is supposedly a sports publication. I can only assume the author is weak like a woman or homosexual. I’m feeling an incredible range of emotions but I am not quite sure how to express them. I might go beat up a hockey player - assuming that’s okay with Duane and the boys? 🙂
9 Go to commentsBest thing the Welsh clubs could do is apply to join Gallagher prem surely be more exciting matches for there support than they have now.
2 Go to commentsRugbyPass writers are useless! you guys should get a real job because you all suck at writing about rugby!!!
9 Go to comments