The Queensland Reds fell 24-14 to the ACT Brumbies in Canberra tonight in a full-on clash between Australia’s two best-performing teams.
The scores were locked 7-all at half-time and the match was still up for grabs when the Brumbies led 21-14 with just over 20 minutes to play.
Even on full-time, the Reds swept 80m upfield to show their unstinting effort before a loose ball carry ended the Round 14 clash in SMARTECH Super Rugby Pacific.
“Fair play to the Brumbies. They attack every ruck and they are a difficult team to play but we still played some good footy," Reds Head Coach Les Kiss said.
"They were clinical when they had to be and made more of our mistakes than we did of theirs.
“It was a top match and we’ll still take out a lot of positives. John Bryant had a cracker of a match and was probably the most effective ball-carrier of the forwards from both sides.”
The Reds dominated possession and threw everything into their bid to win in Canberra for the first time since 2021.
No.8 Bryant, lock Josh Canham, with his 11 ball-carries, 18 tackles and sure lineout work, and winger Lachie Anderson were impressive for the Reds while flanker Fraser McReight was non-stop. Paisami's 18 carries yielded a game-high 176 running metres.
The match was just six minutes old when halfback Tate McDermott made a trademark 25m dart from the ruckbase. His one-handed offload put winger Tim Ryan over for the try and a 7-0 jump.
The Reds remain in fourth spot with a big game lined up for Friday night at Suncorp Stadium when the fifth-placed Hurricanes visit.
“We learnt an important lesson again about winning the important moments. The Brumbies won too many of them,” McDermott said.
“It’s a disappointed dressing room but it’s on to next Friday. Our next two games at home at Suncorp Stadum are massive to decide how we finish heading into the finals.”
The Brumbies did cause the Reds problems at the breakdown as the Reds did in return in a physical contest.
The Brumbies capitalised just after half-time with a 14-0 surge in the 10 minutes that centre Hunter Paisami was off the field when yellow carded for a high contact in a tackle.
Both winger Andy Muirhead and Tom Wright scored out wide in that period.
The Reds came back strongly with impetus from impact players joining from the bench.
Replacement hooker Josh Nasser scored at the back of a well-executed maul off a 5m lineout. Lock sub Angus Blyth fed a neat short pass to McReight in another raid and replacements Kalani Thomas and Dre Pakeho initiated the long-range counter-attack on full-time.
In exactly what order the top six finish is still up for grabs with two rounds of the regular season to play.
On Friday night at Suncorp Stadium, the Reds meet a Hurricanes side which dug deep for a last-gasp 24-20 win over the Highlanders. In their final regular season match, the Reds host the Fijian Drua on May 31.
ACT BRUMBIES 24
Tries: Allan Alalaatoa, Andy Muirhead, Tom Wright
Conversions: Ryan Lonergan 3
Penalty goal: Ryan Lonergan
Defeated
QUEENSLAND REDS 14
Tries: Tim Ryan, Josh Nasser
Conversions: Harry McLaughlin-Phillips 2
Half-time: 7-all
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Crowd: 11,438
