‘No ifs, buts or maybes’: Ex-All Black’s ruthless view on Reds’ title hopes

Reds enforcer Jeffery Toomaga-Allen didn’t hesitate when asked about whether the Queenslanders are setting the bar at a title. Less than two weeks out from the start of the new Super Rugby Pacific season, Toomaga-Allen insisted the Reds are “gunning for the championship.”

Bernard Foley was the hero for the Waratahs in 2014 when they won a thrilling Grand Final 33-32 over the Crusaders. It was a famous win that holds a special place in Super Rugby history as that’s still the last time an Australian side won the competition’s top prize.

Other than the two seasons of Super Rugby AU which were won by the ACT Brumbies and Reds, the Highlanders, Crusaders and Blues have celebrated championship glory after winning deciders over opponents from either South Africa, Argentina or New Zealand.

Foley’s Waratahs were actually the last Australian side to even qualify for the big dance in Super Rugby, with the Brumbies falling short in the semi-finals of the last four completed seasons dating back to 2019. The year before, the Tahs made it to the final four of the 2018 campaign.

While history may not been on the Reds’ side going into the new season, or any Australian franchise for that matter, it hasn’t stopped Toomaga-Allen – who played one Test for the All Blacks in 2013 – from daring to dream of what the Queenslanders can achieve.

“There’s always going to be that development aspect but bro you’ve got to be gunning for the championship as every other player here should be,” Toomaga-Allen told RugbyPass at the Super Rugby Pacific season launch in Sydney.

That’s what we play for, that’s why we play, that’s why I still play. I just want to win the championship.

“There’s no ifs, buts or maybes – that’s it. That’s all you want to win… I feel like if you ask a lot of players [they’d say], ‘Oh yeah that’d be great.’ Nah, there’s no shame about it. I’m ruthless.”

Under coach Les Kiss, the Reds showed signs of fight, potential and class during a memorable 2024 season that included a regular season win over the Chiefs. But the Queenslanders ended up finishing fifth on the ladder and fell to a quarter-final loss to the Chiefs in Hamilton.

But a new season presents new opportunities.

Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Filipo Daugunu, Lachie Anderson and Josh Canham are among the recruits who have made their way to Ballymore, and there are youngsters like Tim ‘Junkyard Dog’ Ryan, Massimo De Lutiis and Harry McLaughlin-Phillips who will be eager to make their mark.

Last weekend, De Lutiis and McLaughlin-Phillips came off the bench as the Reds thrashed English Premiership contenders Bristol 82-21 at Ashton Gate. Ryan, who was named the Rookie of the Year at the Rugby Australia Awards last October, wasn’t selected for the pre-season clash.

It’s a frightening sign of intent from coach Kiss’ men, with Jock Campbell, Fraser McReight and Daugunu among the standouts for the visitors during the 61-point demolition.

Ahead of their season opener against Moana Pasifika on February 21, which is a week after the 2025 campaign gets underway on Valentines Day when the Crusaders host the Hurricanes in Christchurch, the win over Bristol is a confidence-booster for sure.

“When I watched the game I was like, ‘Oh yeah, the boys are looking good man, really good.’ Because you’re always worried in the pre-season, you only judge the team off how you’re training and stuff and there’s been a few up and down sessions which is only natural,” Toomaga-Allen said.

“But when the boys played, everything just seemed to go well. Everything that we’ve been working on that hadn’t been well in training just clicked and it’s really encouraging so hopefully the boys can go well.

“You want to gain confidence, right? Confidence is a big thing. But then again, say if we lost, you gain more as well because you’re learning from losses. I’ve been saying it in media, it’s harder to learn from wins than it is from losses.

“If the boys can truck on then let it be man, play on. Hopefully we take that confidence into Belfast this week and then we get the little break, get to readjust for another season and kick on into Super (Rugby) rounds.”