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Super Round

It was an excellent Saturday night showdown at AAMI Park during the three-day Super Round weekend between the Hurricanes & Queensland Reds. Queensland fired off well where they were up in front earlier with a narrow three-point lead (14-17) at half-time, thanks to the Hurricanes’ disciplinary issues that took out Bailyn Sullivan at one point for 10 minutes with the yellow card. However, the Reds couldn’t find more points along the way while Sullivan’s return presented brilliant timing; when the Hurricanes began to climb back in contention before they dominated the 2nd half spell have confirmed this match-up as winners. The final score is 30-17.

The Hurricanes are on fire here at AAMI Park in Melbourne tonight. They would be disappointed with the ill-discipline when Bailyn Sullivan was taken off the field earlier on via a yellow card for 10 minutes. But he has never let the club down, though, when it comes to the ability on the field; He & Tyrel Lomax made up lost time & put the Hurricanes back in contention where they were three points behind at half-time. And the Hurricanes were able to continue that renewed momentum later on with another two tries on the board before they were well secure with the win, which is a brilliant rebound performance to watch.

Meanwhile, Queensland Reds started well thanks to the Bailyn Sullivan yellow card earlier in the 1st half. They were able to get away with only two tries from Hamish Stewart & Fraser McReight, where they just led by a small three-point buffer at half-time. Although, both the Reds and Hurricanes have disciplinary issues to sort out themselves. However, the disjointed attacking shape unfortunately let them down the most. You can’t win games through a couple of fumbles, particularly Filipo Daugunu; that handed the Hurricanes plenty of ball opportunities where the opposition got away handy with a comfortable win.

The Hurricanes will stay in Australia for a while with a week-long rest before they take on the Brumbies at GIO Stadium in Canberra next Sunday. And the Reds will look to get back to winning ways against a New Zealand team when they will battle against the Chiefs at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Friday night.

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We have to say that Tyrel Lomax is tough as a rock down in the tighthead front row for the Hurricanes tonight. He brings so much physicality to the table where Lomax was there to rob the Queensland Reds’ scoring spree defensively. It came at the right time when Lomax benefitted from Bailyn Sullivan’s return off the sin bin that reconnected the Hurricanes team & also began to notice the Reds’ weaknesses with their attacking shape. Once the Reds were in trouble, Lomax further punished them with the support and communication needed to get the job done in any combination possible; the scrum/maul, phases to build some pressure, and execution past the TRY line. And with the Hurricanes being well safe in the winners’ circle, Lomax deserved a well-earned rest with two tries between half-time breaks after 67 minutes of play.

The next Hurricanes player to look at is Bailyn Sullivan, who plays No.13 in the outside centre role. Yes, he may not have had a good start when Sullivan had to sit 10 minutes on the bench with the yellow card. However, you cannot underestimate his hard work as soon as he came back on the field. The Canes are blessed to have their attacking shape working for the rest of tonight, with credit coming from Sullivan. He can combine the physical toughness that can not only filter out the Reds defensively, but he also adds some pace to execute in return with two tries scored v Reds here at AAMI Park. Without him, the Reds were in the lead earlier on before he came back to turn the tide that changed this match-up.

And one Queensland Reds player to look at is Fraser McReight on the openside back row in the No.7 shirt. He never stopped running and working hard all game, where his Reds team took advantage to get themselves ahead earlier in the 1st half. He also backed up his support runners back and forth while being roped in to protect defensively, which tested his physicality & guidance in this role at Super Rugby level. However, the Reds unfortunately let him down as a whole team when a disjointed attacking shape just faltered later during this match-up.

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It was a high-scoring game between the Chiefs & Waratahs where it kickstarted the three-day Super Round weekend at AAMI Park in Melbourne last night. Waratahs were lucky to have recovered from their messy first-half spell at 30-17 after the break when Jake Gordon’s 2nd TRY almost overtook the Chiefs for the lead in the 50th minute. However, the Chiefs are in cruise control when a hat-trick scoring spree later in the 2nd half from Jonah Lowe sealed them an easy win, 51-27.

The Tahs needed their attacking shape to be on the same page as Jake Gordon. Although, Alex Newsome was the other try-scorer in the 1st half. That is one huge weakness that precluded them from staying in contention over the last 30 mins of this match. Luckily, the 20-minute red card rule gave the back Tahs a full XV men where they made up some lost time. However, the momentum just wasn’t there in the end. They also would’ve benefitted from Angus Bell if it wasn’t for his red card that can form a more robust forward line to stop Jonah Lowe defensively and help brighten up the Tahs’ attack.

And the Chiefs were simply on fire last night. Their attacking shape has been sensational from Jonah Lowe’s four-try scoring spree, including the hat-trick in the 2nd half to Quinn Tuapea’s 1st half double-try. You can see the communication and a few decoy runners lined up together where you saw one player running up & protects the opposition half, while another Chiefs player in the same shirt finds that gap past the TRY line and scores. Although they will need to fix their ill-discipline where Tahs scored back a couple of times, the Chiefs were glad to get one away unscathed, thanks to the read off the Tahs’ poor attacking shape before they unleashed Lowe at the right time that changed the storyline of this game.

Chiefs will now head off to Brisbane & take on the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium next Friday night, while the Waratahs will host the Crusaders at Leichardt Oval in Sydney next Saturday at 5.05 pm local time.

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There is one word to describe Jonah Lowe’s performance; that is simply unbelievable! He scored up to four tries for the Chiefs last night on the right wing, especially in the 2nd half with a hat-trick spell. He was also blessed to be called upon for the the Chiefs when they were almost overtaken for the lead at one point by the Tahs earlier in the 2nd half, and they needed fresh ideas in order to stay ahead. But he’s always ready where Lowe caught the Tahs red handed, as noticed by his teammates with their disjointed attacking shape, before he was just too good to pull off with the pace and power in the end.

Next up is Alex Nankivell in the outside back position at No.13 for the Chiefs where he also worked really hard all game. He was there to operate and protect the Chiefs in all areas, which is crucial when he was being tested defensively. That way, Nankivell can flex his attacking skillset with the ball and shield the Tahs players before one of his men were able to make it past the TRY line. Although the Waratahs almost ran them over at one stage earlier in the 2nd half. However, he has everything in mind what the opposition isn’t capable of and called on his men to do some damage; that set his Chiefs team in full throttle towards the homestretch.

And Jake Gordon was instrumental when his two tries last night alongside Alex Newsome saw the Tahs almost within close reach of the lead earlier in the 2nd half. The way how Gordon sets up the attack with the passing; and how he has the pace & leadership to outrun the Chiefs, which is incredible to watch from this individual. Yes, the ill-discipline the Tahs suffered with the Angus Bell red card & Jamie Roberts’s 10 minute naughty chair spell may bitten them a little in the first half. However, the Tahs attacking outlet simply weren’t on the same page where they struggled mightily later in the 2nd half; that cost them dearly with the heavy loss.

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