The Queensland Reds punctured the armour of the NSW Waratahs for five tries yet still came up short in an absorbing Super Rugby Under-16s grand final in Sydney today.
The 57-34 scoreline belies how competitive multiple periods were during the decider which turned into a 14-try spectacle for fans watching the elite rugby players at this age level in Australia.
The Reds fought back to lead 15-12 after the Waratahs made a dizzying 12-0 start inside the opening five minutes. After a lull in the middle period of the game, the Reds produced three tries in the second half to show their fight.
It was equal parts frustration and affirmation of how the Reds game plan might sting the undefeated Waratahs.
Lock Denver Bradford's pick-and-drive try to put first points on the scoreboard for the Reds after six minutes was exactly the go-to pack pressure that the Queenslanders wanted to apply.
The set piece came to the fore as planned too. In the second half, replacement flanker Matti Gill peeled off to score from a lineout, replacement hooker Hill scored off a maul driven over from a lineout win and replacement halfback Harry Dowling got over from close to the line as well.
Mixing up their play came in the form of flyhalf Charlie Meredith producing a pinpoint cross-kick into the arms of leaping winger Mitch Durrheim over the tryline for the go-ahead 15-12 score after 17 minutes.
Two 50-22 kicks from the precise boot of fullback Chilli Tonell9-Smith were excellent with the first generating the field position for the Gill try.
The frustration came in the form of conceding tries when the Reds repeatedly ceded possession and momentum when the Waratahs gathered their own kick-offs, including for centre Payton Taurau's opening try inside 10 seconds.
The Reds backline defence off scrums was too easily befuddled but credit must also go to the power of Waratahs centres Charlie Xuereb and Taurau plus the speed of finishers Asher Chapman and Ben Wright.
Chapman's try midway through the second half made it a competition-high 12 for the series as the Waratahs won their fourth successive title at this age level.
Hooker Noah Gaffney, prop Moses Faleafa, lineout dominator Denver Bradford and flanker Charlie Grieves, in late to start for injured Fraser Boakes, had strong involvements in the pack while the reserves added impact in the second half.
"The boys showed a lot of fight and composure to get to the lead after a rough start (0-12)," Reds U16s coach Welmar Du Plessis said.
"I think we'd all say that too many errors, like scoring a try and then finding ourselves defending straight away when not taking kick-offs, hurt us.
"We did well in the set pieces, we got energy from the bench and there was always plenty of fight. It wasn't our day.
"I think a lot of guys improved and had positive experiences over the past six weeks that they can take back to their schools. I hope we see many of them continue on to the Reds U18s."
NSW WARATAHS 57
Tries: Payton Taurau 3, Asher Chapman, Finn Hannon, Ben Wright, Charlie Xuereb, Cordell Arama, Hugo Lestrange
Conversions: Wilson Ruthven 6
Def
QUEENSLAND REDS 34
Tries: Denver Bradford, Mitch Durrheim, Xavier Hill, Matti Gill, Harry Dowling
Conversions: Chill Tonelli-Smith 2, Charlie Meredith
Penalty Goal: Charlie Meredith
Half-time: Waratahs 29-Reds 15
Venue: Knox Grammar School, Sydney
