‘So much confidence’: Why the Reds believe a title is within reach

The Queensland Reds are pledging to keep winning the pressure moments and challenge for an against-the-odds Super Rugby Pacific crown.

After sealing their place in the finals with a last-gasp 33-31 victory over a gallant Moana Pasifika outfit in Auckland on Saturday, the Reds have set their sights on finishing as high up the ladder as possible.

Les Kiss’s sixth-placed side hosts the Fijian Drua in Brisbane on Friday night still with a mathematical chance of finishing in the all-important fourth spot.

With the winners of the next week’s three “quarter-finals” plus the highest-ranked losing team to progress to the semi-finals, snatching fourth position from the Crusaders and ACT Brumbies looms as critical for the Reds.

Either way, Wallabies captain and Queensland No.8 Harry Wilson is backing the Reds to cause damage in the play-offs.

“We’ve obviously been probably quite an interesting team to watch this year,” Wilson said on Monday.

“We’ve played some unbelievable footy against some of the Kiwi teams, the Brumbies, probably games we were meant to lose.

“And then some games we’re meant to win, we’ve probably been very hard to watch and we’ve let a few games slip there.

“So that gives us confidence when we know we’re playing our best, we can beat anybody in our day, and that’s really crucial going to the quarter-finals for maximising our year and getting as far as we can.”

That confidence comes after the Reds pulled a series of games out of the fire this season including on Saturday night, when in-form fullback Jock Campbell bagged the match-winning try in Auckland with just two minutes to go.

Wilson says producing the clutch plays in the finals will be paramount against the table-topping Hurricanes and fellow heavyweights the Chiefs and Blues.

“We’ve had a few really big moments in the last moments of a fair few games this year, and obviously we’d like to put ourselves in a better position to have the game done before that,” he said.

“But in saying that, we know how much in a game of Super Rugby at the moment it can go up and down and we’ve really stepped up in those big moments.

“And I’ve got so much confidence in this group. If we can do the little things well, if we have a strong set piece, feel good around the breakdown and give our backs a quick ball, we’ll be a tough team to verse (play against).”