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Super Rugby AU Final: Reds Player Ratings
The Queensland Reds have gone down fighting in the final of Super Rugby AU, losing 28-23 to the Brumbies in Canberra.
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Here’s the Reds player ratings:
1. JP Smith – 6/10
Smith did his job against the Brumbies, playing his part in the Reds dominant scrum during the first half.
2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa – 5.5/10
The Reds earlier season lineout woes came back to haunt them in the Final, with Paenga-Amosa missing pivotal throws throughout the contest. The Reds struggled to gain any ascendancy in the forwards as a result. The 24-year-old also only had one carry, and made just four tackles in the decider.
3. Taniela Tupou – 7.5/10
Tupou was a standout for the Reds in the Final, just as he has been all season. The Tongan Thor was dominant in the scrum, getting the better of Wallaby Scott Sio to earn his side a few penalties in the first half. He was also tough to bring down when he got his chances in attack, running for 30 metres off six carries.
4. Angus Blyth – 6.5/10
Not sure about his haircut, but Blyth capped off a great campaign with another promising display. The 22-year-old showed glimpses of his potential even with the Reds lineout struggling. Blyth also managed to cross for a try late that got his side to within touching distance of the lead.
5. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto – 5/10
Salakaia-Loto struggled to make an impact, finishing the match with one carry and one tackle. Went off early in the second-half after a nasty head clash, but was good to see the 24-year-old walk off.
6. Liam Wright – 6.5/10
It was a tough night for the Reds skipper, who showed plenty of heart, but couldn’t influence the game with his efforts. Wright applied plenty of pressure on the Brumbies lineout, especially later in the game.
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7. Fraser McReight – 6.5/10
It was a quiet night for the 21-year-old, who was uncharacteristically ineffective around the breakdown. McReight was penalties a few times at the breakdown, instead making his mark in attack. Especially later in the match, the flanker looked dangerous down the left-hand side.
8. Harry Wilson – 7/10
In a losing side, Wilson was a shining light for the Queensland Reds, with his work rate impressing once again. The 20-year-old finished with a turnover and made the most tackles of any Reds forward. He also crossed for a try in the 31st minute, running in support of a rampant Jordan Petaia.
9. Tate McDermott – 7/10
With only 39% of possession in the first-half, McDermott couldn’t make his usual impact with the ball in hand. He did get more lively as the game went on, with his highlight play coming with 15 minutes to play. Showing fantastic footwork, the scrumhalf managed to break through the Brumbies defence and lay the ball back for Blyth to cross over.
10. James O’Connor – 7/10
O’Connor’s leadership and organisation guided a young Queensland Reds side to the Final, but it wasn’t enough to get them over the line against the Brumbies. He ran the ball well when he had to, but was also very deep which kept his side on the back foot. O’Connor also kicked plenty of ball away without finding the grass. He did finish with 13 points to his name though, and the Reds wouldn’t have come so close to silverware without his experience.
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11. Filipo Daugunu – 5.5/10
Daugunu has arguably been the form winger of Super Rugby AU, but he didn’t have his best performance in the decider. The winger was yellow carded 50 minutes in for a tip tackle, in what was an otherwise quiet night. He made no tackles and only had three carries.
12. Hamish Stewart – 6.5/10
Was once again solid in defence, making the most tackles of any Reds player with nine without missing any. But Stewart did struggle to make an impact in attack, only having a limited amount of opportunities.
13. Hunter Paisami – 7/10
Paisami was a bolter in Dave Rennie’s first Wallabies squad, but reminded everyone why he’s gunning for the gold 13 jersey with a brutal display in attack. He was constantly bumping off defenders, proving very hard to bring down, even when he had little to no room to move. Great work rate as well.
14. Jordan Petaia – 6.5/10
Only got half a game, but Petaia showed once again, that he’s truly a special talent. The up-and-comer made something out of nothing to set up Harry Wilson, running through a broken Brumbies defence before laying the ball off to his teammate with a flick pass.
15. Jock Campbell – 6.5/10
A frustrating night for the fullback, who showed glimpses of his threat but struggled to make a genuine impact. He’ll be disappointed with his final contribution from the Final, dropping the ball cold as the Reds looked to mount a final attack from deep.
Replacements:
16. Josh Nasser
17. Harry Hoopert 6/10
18. Ruan Smith
19. Tuaina Taii Tualima
20. Angus Scott-Young 6/10
21. Moses Sorovi 6/10
22. Bryce Hegarty6.5/10
23. Jack Hardy – N/A
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
24 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
24 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
24 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments