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Hurricanes come back from 17 points down to tip over Reds

By AAP
Peter Umaga-Jensen. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

The Queensland Reds saw a Super Rugby Pacific victory go up in smoke after blowing an early lead to crash to a painful 35-17 defeat to the Hurricanes.

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The Reds couldn’t have asked for a better start in their Super Round clash at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Saturday night, looking to make a mark in their first match against New Zealand opposition this season.

They raced out to lead 17-0 after 30 minutes with tries from centre Hamish Stewart and flanker Fraser McReight, but then didn’t manage to score another point.

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What the All Blacks squad could look like halfway through Super Rugby Pacific.

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What the All Blacks squad could look like halfway through Super Rugby Pacific.

“Pretty gutted and I know the players are as well,” Reds coach Brad Thorn said.

“These New Zealand sides, they’ll make you pay if you make those errors, play too much footy in your half, lack of discipline.”

 

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“Credit to our opponent – they were under pressure and they battled away and then the game went their way and we didn’t handle that pressure as well so, we’ve got to take those lessons.”

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The Wellington-based Hurricanes struggled with discipline early, copping a 9-2 penalty count and both centre Bailyn Sullivan and prop Pouri Rakete-Stones were shown yellow cards for dangerous tackles.

McReight’s five-pointer came while Rakete-Stones was on the sidelines, with the livewire flanker popping out of a maul to score.

But momentum shifted in the 36th minute after the Reds failed to play to the whistle, when an intercept attempt by Hurricanes winger Julian Savea was ruled to have gone backwards and was scooped up by Sullivan who raced to the line unchallenged.

The absence of Wallabies playmaker James O’Connor through injury was felt as the Reds appeared to become rattled while their kicking game was mostly ineffective.

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They lost Connor Vest to a yellow card and then let Tyrel Lomax score right on halftime as their lead was whittled back to 17-14.

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With their tireless skipper Ardie Savea urging his team on, prop Lomax was in again just a minute into the second half as the Hurricanes took the lead for the first time.

Sullivan then crossed again in the 70th minute when he pounced on a perfectly-weighted kick into the in-goal by reserve playmaker Jackson Garden-Bachop, pushing the margin out to 13 points.

With the Waratahs going down to the Chiefs on Friday night, it continued the misery for Australian teams against their trans-Tasman rivals.

Hurricanes coach Jason Holland was thrilled with the way his team responded.

“To come back from 17-0 down and win is in its own way pretty satisfying,” he said.

“It took a while for us to adjust to a few things and what we’ve learned is that possession is key.

“So, when we got that right and we sorted out some discipline we were able to adapt and get into the game so I’m pretty happy with that.”

– Melissa Woods

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Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

8 Go to comments
T
Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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