‘Just went to sleep’: The point-scoring blitz that cost Reds in Canes epic

Less than 10 minutes after full-time at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, Tate McDermott stood a couple of metres away from Brad Shields, who had just helped lead the Hurricanes to a hard-fought 31-27 win over the Queensland Reds.

McDermott waited a couple of minutes off-camera while Shields was interviewed by Wallabies great Tim Horan, before getting the chance to speak himself. After an 80-minute battle, you could see just how “disappointed” the Reds captain was.

With two rounds left in the regular season, the Reds went into Friday night’s clash as the fourth-placed side on the standings, while the Hurricanes were one spot back in fifth. But this four-point result could have significant ramifications on the playoff race.

Super Rugby Pacific will have a ‘lucky loser’ during the upcoming finals series, with the highest-ranked loser from the quarter-finals set to receive a second chance. If the top-three teams all win their matches at home, the fourth-seeded side will get a second chance.

The Hurricanes are now in the box seat to secure a fourth-placed finish, with the men from New Zealand’s capital doing enough to secure a sought-after result in Brisbane. While the Reds played well, conceding 14 points just before the break proved costly in the end.

“Obviously really disappointed with the result,” McDermott said post-game on Stan Sport.

“Heaps of good footy .We just went to sleep for 10 minutes before half-time and got our way back into it but we just weren’t good enough.

“Really disappointing. Huge crowd but we just couldn’t’ get the job done.”

It’s not often the Hurricanes play at the famed Brisbane sporting venue, but the visitors gave their fans plenty to cheer about early on. First five-eighth Ruben Love scored inside the first minute, but McDermott hit back for the Reds almost immediately.

Tom Lynagh was accurate off the goal-kicking tee, giving the Queenslanders the lead on two occasions during the first term, but a barrage of points just before the break swung the contest in the Hurricanes’ favour.

Cam Roigard and Billy Proctor crossed for a five-pointer each, with Love adding the extras on both occasions, as the Canes went from trailing 12-13 in the 32^nd minute to leading 26-13 with just enough time for a restart before the break.

McDermott and Joe Brial helped the Reds wrestle their way back into the lead with a try each early in the second half – Brial’s try in particular was especially eye-catching, with the flanker refusing to be tackled – but the Canes were too good in the end.

Fehi Fineanganofo completed a double with 15 minutes left, and that proved to be the final score of the contest, although the Canes had some try-scoring opportunities in the dying stages of this round 15 epic.

“Our forward pack’s been massive for us all year,” McDermott reflected.

“The rise of Joe Brial has been incredible. [Harry Wilson] back from injury, playing 80 minutes, Zane Nonggorr pretty much playing 80 minutes, that’s huge. Young guy, Dre [Pakeho] again, another huge performance.

“The forwards are the absolute heartbeat of our club at the moment and they’re playing out of our skin. We’ve just got to make sure we give them a little bit more.

“I thought me and Tommy [Lynagh] probably didn’t kick as well as we could have tonight and that put the team under pressure and we’ll learn from that because coming towards the pointy end [of the season], destiny’s out of our hands at the moment.

“We’ll see what happens next week and we’ve got a huge game against the Drua on Saturday.”