Reds pinch win over Brumbies after yet another clutch play for Petaia
Jordan Petaia has produced back-to-back clutch plays as the Queensland Reds rallied from 12-0 down to beat the Brumbies 24-22 and secure hosting rights to the Super Rugby AU final.
The Reds’ seventh-straight win this season and 10th consecutive at Suncorp Stadium came after a frantic five minutes of defence after they edged ahead for the first time in the 77th minute.
With his side trailing 22-13 with 18 minutes to play, Petaia, who scored the late winner when the sides last played, pinned his ears back and nailed a 50-22 kick.
He then out-jumped Tom Banks to win a James O’Connor bomb, finding the turf to make it a four-point game.
O’Connor then kicked another penalty before Fraser McReight and Angus Scott-Young won a crucial turnover in front of their posts as the Brumbies sniffed a match-sealer.
Another scrum penalty then gave O’Connor the chance to kick for the lead from a slight angle 35m out and he made no mistake.
They then twice for ced turnovers as the Brumbies probed either side of the full-time siren in another classic encounter between the sides.
The Reds went in without in-form Wallabies centre Hunter Paisami (calf), teenager Josh Flook given the task in the centres as coach Brad Thorn kept Petaia on the wing.
Led by an aggressive Rob Valetini, the Brumbies had the better of the early exchanges but Flook defended stoutly and was rewarded with a second-half try down the blindside that came from another clever O’Connor kick.
Wright had the immediate reply though as the Brumbies edged closer to their first win in Brisbane since 2015 – one that would have kept their own hopes of hosting the decider alive.
The visitors were clinical early, Folau Fainga’a tip-toeing inside the right touch line to score from a rolling maul before Tom Banks ran 70m from an O’Connor intercept.
Cracks exposed in the Reds defence ?
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The hosts earned back some ground and O’Connor kicked two penalties to peg back the margin before it looked as if 100-gamer Bryce Hegarty had put them within a poi nt.
He chased a Hamish Stewart grubber 50m, his tackle on Andy Muirhead knocking the ball clear before the fullback got a hand on it.
The try was denied on review though, officials curiously judging Hegarty had knocked the ball forward while making the tackle.
They had other moments too but penalties spoiled them, Nic White nailing a 53m penalty for 15-6 lead on the half-time buzzer.
Despite Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa’s return, the Reds’ scrum held firm though as they slowly pegged their way back.
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments