Super Rugby: Reds finish season with 40-27 loss to Brumbies and plenty of questions to ponder
Samu Kerevi’s final match for the Reds has finished with a hefty loss to the Brumbies but the captain says he is impressed with the growth of the team.
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Kiwi flyhalf Matt McGahan will be offered a new deal to stay with a Reds side that will struggle into next season with a backline of popguns in attack.
A disjointed 40-27 loss in Canberra on Saturday night shunted the Reds into the off-season with major headaches.
The superior Brumbies did a fine job of shutting down attacking trump Samu Kerevi in his final game for the Reds and there was little to trouble them once they did.
Young sparks Tate McDermott and Isaac Lucas were both missing on Saturday night but the potential signing of Melbourne Rebels centre Billy Meakes would hardly be replacing Kerevi with a line-breaker deluxe.
The Reds made a promising enough start in the chilly four degree temperatures when in-form fullback Bryce Hegarty dived over after igniting the breakout with an intercept 70m downfield.
The Reds weathered the sinbinning of prop Taniela Tupou when he was ruled to have made a dangerous shoulder-to-shoulder jolt on Brumbies flyhalf Christian Lealiifano midway through the first half.
The Reds were 12-10 down just before half-time when the game got away from them.
Flanker Lukhan Salakaia-Loto left the field after an accidental head clash with Kerevi, when both attempted a tackle, and replacement Scott Higginbotham got instantly involved.
Unfortunately, Higginbotham’s first act was a maul penalty and his second was to bring down another which handed the Brumbies a penalty try and 10 minutes against 14 men because he was yellow carded.
In all, the Reds conceded 19-0 when down to 14 men.
The confident Brumbies took the open invitation to win their sixth straight game and will enter the Super Rugby finals on Saturday night with a sudden-death quarter-final in Canberra.
Matches like this have turned ugly for the Reds in Canberra before but full credit to the fight of the Queenslanders to find two late tries.
Halfback Scott Malolua found Jock Campbell one pass off a scrum and the University of Queensland winger set up Duncan Paia’aua for a farewell try before he heads to French club Toulon.
Higginbotham made some late surges in his own farewell outing before his link with Bordeaux.
“Six wins doesn’t reflect the growth of this team, of these young men,” Kerevi said.
“I’m proud of how far they have come.”
Hegarty (seven tries) has been one of the few finds in the backs this season.
For the Brumbies, backrower Lachy McCaffrey had another strong game in the scene-setting opening 50 minutes while prop Scott Sio savoured a worthy win in his 100th Super Rugby match.
The Brumbies showed the admirable variety to their play which has netted eight wins from their last 10 games since they regrouped after a 36-14 loss to the Reds in Brisbane in March.
The lineout play that created a try for winger Andy Muirhead with an inside ball was sharp and dominant lock Rory Arnold somehow found a way to dot the ball down for another after backing his way into the defence from a few metres out.
Fullback Tom Banks was all workrate (11 runs for 119m) although well contained. Lealiifano made heartrates rise when he stayed down after the Tupou hit but he bounced back well.
His shrewdness to play inside balls and direct will be a factor in the quarter-final.
Winger Tom Wright is a weapon on the rise and not just for the Brumbies.
His sharp left foot step is a beauty and when Reds winger Filipo Daugunu aimlessly flung a ball towards Kerevi, Wright was the last man he needed to loom.
Wright ran in the intercept try from 55m.
BRUMBIES 40 (1 penalty try) (Rory Arnold, Murray Douglas, Lachlan McCaffrey, Andrew Muirhead, Tom Wright tries Christian Leali’ifano 3, Ryan Lonergan cons) QUEENSLAND REDS 27 (Bryce Hegarty, Duncan Paia’aua, Liam Wright tries Hegarty 3 cons pen Matt McGahan drop goal) at GIO Stadium. Referee: Paul Williams
Originally published as Super Rugby: Reds finish season with 40-27 loss to Brumbies and plenty of questions to ponder
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