Queensland Reds record third victory of Super Rugby season with 22-17 win over Stormers
QUEENSLAND Reds have recorded a patchy 22-17 win over the Stormers on a greasy night in Brisbane, their third victory of the season.
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WILL Genia saluted the grinding must-win attitude of the Reds as the perfect mindset for the “warfare” they can expect when the feisty Western Force visit Suncorp Stadium next Saturday night.
The champion schemer was still in the sweat-soaked jersey he wore in Saturday night’s attritional 22-17 success over South Africa’s Stormers when forecasting the volume would need to be cranked up again to beat the Force.
“The Force are going to be the toughest side we’ve played so far this year in terms of their recent results and the way they always lift to play us,” halfback Genia warned.
“This was grinding style footy to beat the Stormers. Discipline. It will get us ready for that warfare against the Force.
“Discipline is an attitude thing. We showed it by cutting our penalties (in half to just eight) from our previous game and sticking to plans.”
This was a night where a grinding one-try success to revive the season was worth more than all the flash in the world against the side renowned as the best defensive side in Super Rugby.
Skipper James Horwill admitted there were ugly moments but was delighted with the subtle “wins” of pressuring a fragile Stormers lineout into multiple errors and the calm heads to set up for a Quade Cooper field goal.
Behind the scenes, forwards Rob Simmons and Ed Quirk had beaten back spasms to play and Cooper, James Slipper and Anthony Faingaa had dealt with upset stomachs in the shortened week since the draining return from South Africa.
Rarely do you get a crowd roaring a field goal as they did last night. All 28,060 in the ground knew the significance of Cooper’s pot shot in the 66th minute because it gave the Reds a 19-10 break, their first breathing space of the night.
“That showed great maturity to put a team away,” coach Richard Graham enthused.
Non-stop flanker Beau Robinson, centre Ben Tapuai, hooker James Hanson, skipper Horwill and playmakers Cooper and Genia kept the Reds driving in the right direction.
The Reds were pinching and pressuring lineouts. When Stormers hooker Deon Fourie was pinged for the most costly of his crooked lineout throws on his own tryline, the Reds found their ruthless streak in the 24th minute.
From the ensuing scrum, Genia darted, linked with winger Dom Shipperley in close and the bridgehead for a Rob Simmons pick-and-drive try was set.
“All longbacks enjoyed that,” Horwill grinned. Lock Simmons is in the grip of March madness when it comes to tries. He scored his first for the Reds a year ago and he’s positively a try machine these days with two in 71 matches.
The Queensland Rugby Union have initiated a competition for kids to design a dog house for the team’s new canine mascot, Red.
When the Stormers scored first after the home side’s busy opening came to nothing, they could have been re-directed to design 15 for Reds players.
Two early tackle misses by Tapuai and Quirk were not a good sign because there is one thing the Stormers can do and that is tackle.
Cooper’s boot nudged the Reds to 16-10 with 20 minutes to play.
The Stormers lost their main attacking spark when fullback Gio Aplon dislocated his left elbow early in the first half.
Reds 22 (R Simmons try; Q Cooper conv, 4 pen goals, Q Cooper fld goal) bt Stormers 17 (D De Allende, S Notshe tries; P Grant conv, pen, D Catrakilis conv)
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