Queensland Reds gone ahead early with back-to-back penalty goals while the Hurricanes responded well with their own three-pointers to level the score. Now the Reds may have found the TRY line first, but so does the Canes’ before another penalty goal saw them lead by only three points at half time (13-16). However, the 2nd half belongs to the Canes where they extended their lead with a couple of big scores that saw them come out well on top. And as for the Reds, they were stuck in a rut with a number of lost penalties + 1-2 yellows thanks to their messy discipline, before they couldn’t get back up & running at all for the rest of this match. The final score was 13-47.
Congratulations to the Hurricanes all-around with a huge victory away from Wellington. Their first half has been slow and steady alongside the Reds where they responded really well to the opposition’s early headstart before they got away with a small lead ahead of half-time. Then the Canes’ stayed ahead as the game goes on where they took advantage of the Reds’ poor 2nd half momentum & they never stopped scoring TRY after TRY until full-time – in which was so good to watch from their attacking outlet. Now they will travel south to Melbourne for the Super Round v Rebels on Friday Night, as the Canes are hopefully to force their way amongst 3 of the best NZ teams right now – such as the Blues, Crusaders & Chiefs.
Meanwhile, it’s been a night to forget for the Reds where they were brutally destroyed with no fightback at all throughout the 2nd half. They fired off not bad where a series of three-point penalty goals helped them a bit before they found their first touch later in the first half, which shows they were on the right track. But what they really need to work on is their ill-discipline where they lost a lot of penalties, particularly with that lost penalty TRY not long after half-time before they were toothless everywhere – nothing more ever since. Although the Reds can take the win next Sunday v Western Force, but then they really need to be really competitive v other NZ teams + Brumbies & Waratahs if they want to finish Top 8 & play Finals again.
We’re set for the three-day Super Round festival next weekend at AAMI Park in Melbourne, with all 12 teams travelling to play there going into Round 2 of the new Super Rugby season.
