Taniela Tupou proved to be a powerful front-rower with valuable Wallaby experience at tighthead tonight for the Reds. He’s got such a great eye when Tupou had the chance to look at the Tahs’ weaknesses in the attack before he spotted their mistakes & used it against them, especially in the scrummaging defensively. And the Reds redeemed themselves later on that helped extend & maintain their winning margin when Tupou exploited the Tahs defense further in return, where he squeezed his way through the gate & bagged himself a TRY in the second half. That kind of hard work Tupou safeguarded his Reds side in the box seat earned him an early mark in the 67th minute, with unfinished business ahead v Brumbies also at home next Saturday.
The next Reds spotlight player after Tupou to look at is Harry Wilson on the back row at No.8. He has been a brilliant contributor as always who never stops running back and forth throughout the full 80 minutes of play. The teamwork was there to work out and set up a trap when identifying the Tahs’ attacking weaknesses, before he helped them hold the ball up phyiscally when it comes to his defensive contribution. Then Wilson had a crack to build some pressure back to the opposition half with the ball on hand, while he can be mobile alongside the physical grit to get the job done, especially after half-time with a couple of successful big scores.
And the standout Tahs player is Mark Nawaquanitawase on the right-wing tonight at No.14. His pace & the high-flying catches saw him in cruise control with the ball, such as that sensational TRY assist towards scrum-half Jack Grant via the short side in the 1st half. While he continued to provide a decent threat against the Reds’ defensive line, he just needed more support to make good use of his attacking skillsets that would’ve steered past the Reds tonight.
