Heartbreak sours historic debut: Four things learnt from Reds’ defeat

Hearts have been broken in the cruellest of fashions, as Tim Ryan’s historic starting debut failed to conquer the Blues at the death.

A try from broken play to Caleb Clarke after the full-time siren stole the clash from the Queensland Reds, but the 41-34 defeat unearthed a star of the future and eased fears for what a major injury setback could do for their campaign’s prospects.

The Blues celebrate the match winning try scored by Sam Nock.Credit:

Concerns that Jordan Petaia’s season-ending shoulder injury could derail the Reds’ attacking potential were eradicated, as Ryan became just the second player in the club’s history to score a hat-trick.

Having come off the bench twice this season, the 20-year-old was parachuted into the starting side as Petaia faced the surgery table to repair an injured shoulder, and Mac Grealy was sidelined to manage his workload.

Now, Ryan may be impossible to drop.

Twice early in the second half he was pulled down agonisingly short of the line, but from then on, everything he touched turned to gold.

First he capitalised on a piece of Hunter Paisami magic to race 50m to score. Then, he won a tight charge to the corner against some desperate covering defence.

His last was simply sensational, jumping and dancing around defenders from a short side raid off a scrum, before bamboozling Blues fullback Cole Forbes.

Ryan beat six defenders and ran for a whopping 162 metres to complement his hat-trick heroics in a performance that had the Reds’ faithful confident of securing the upset of the season.

But it was not to be - their 31-20 lead quickly eradicated as Blues No.8 Hoskins Sotutu continued his magnificent 2024 campaign - scoring a try and running for 125m in a colossal display.

“We’re devastated, we put ourselves in the driver’s seat come back from an early deficit, stuck to our game plan which paid a bit of dividends, so we’re just gutted,” Reds captain Liam Wright said.

“I thought our boys really left it all out there - they played hard for each other and hard for the jersey. You don’t have to mention Timmy Ryan, he was excellent tonight, he was just the epitome of what this squad is about - just stepping up to the job and going above and beyond.

“It’s a tough one to take, but we’ll regather. ”

Paisami cannot be ignored

Hunter Paisami’s evolution hit another gear against Super Rugby’s most daunting rivals, demonstrating the sort of form that should surely elevate him back into the Wallabies fold.

Tim Ryan of the Reds scores a try against the Blues at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.Credit:

The 26-year-old was in the thick of everything for the Reds, playing a major hand in two tries to give his side a shock lead in the second half.

First it was a bulldozing run in which he shrugged off a defender with ease and burst into the clear, finding Ryan out wide only for the winger to be pulled down just short.

Queensland would eventually strike from that field position shortly after through Suliasi Vunivalu at the back of the ruck, before the biggest transformation of Paisami’s game was shown moments later.

Deep inside his own half, the inside centre chipped for himself and in one swift motion regathered and found Ryan out wide again.

Paisami had earlier looked to impose his boot on the contest, kicking across field for open space only for the ball to just beat his winger into touch.

But for the fact he made every touch of the ball count, and looked to make a difference with each carry, he demonstrates the exact competitive qualities and growth new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt will be on the lookout for ahead of July’s series against Wales.

Ill discipline costly

In another life, Suliasi Vunivalu was one of the most elite finishers to step onto a field, but a costly mistake will have the Reds wondering what could have been.

Back in his rugby league days, the former Melbourne Storm flyer was one of the most gifted try-scorers in the NRL - finishing his days in the 13-man code with 86 tries from 111 appearances.

But on Saturday night, after doing all the hard work, he somehow managed to let the opening points slip through his fingers.

An unexpected yet pinpoint box kick from Kalani Thomas inside the Blues’ half was caught in a contest by Vunivalu, who shrugged off the defence and simply had to put the ball down.

Replays, however, showed the smallest amount of separation to deny the try, and the Blues marched back down field shortly after to take the lead.

Even luck was not in the Reds favour from that point, a penalty goal attempt from Kiwi five-eighth Harry Plummer from 45m out in front of the sticks striking the posts and landing back in his side’s hands. A quick shift to the left allowed Forbes to double the lead.

But Queensland showed character and resilience to claw their way back, eventually scoring through prop Jeffrey Toomaga-Allen courtesy of some patient and disciplined pick and drive work following a Harry Wilson break down the touchline.

Vunivalu eventually bounced back to score in a moment of reprieve, but between that early error, three costly lineout losses with the throw and a pair of scrum penalties on their feed, those errors mounted enough to get the Blues out of danger.

What will frustrate further is the fact it marks the fourth game the Reds realistically should have closed out, only to fall at the death.

Defeat to the Hurricanes in extra-time, Moana Pasifika and a one-point heartbreaker to the Brumbies - despite leading by nine deep in the clash - have been the differences between a season of promise and a campaign of title contention.

But Wright was adamant his unit still had the makings of a premiership force.

“Absolutely, that’s the belief in the locker room. It shows we’re a team that needs to not be taken lightly,” Wright said.

“We’ve let a couple of games go like that, but to become the team we want to be that’s definitely an area we can take forward because we want to be closing those out.

“We’re putting ourselves in good spots against good teams … but I don’t have any specifics or technical answers for you just yet.

“It’s a tough one to take, but we’ll keep trying to bridge that area.”

McReight desperately missed

Wallabies flanker Fraser McReight’s return to the Reds’ fold could not come soon enough, as his teammates battled in vain against a dominant Blues pack.

McReight had his three-match suspension downgraded to two weeks for dangerous contact in the defeat to Moana Pasifika, having undergone the coaching intervention program to be able to take on the Crusaders next week.

In his absence, Queensland were at odds on how to withstand the Kiwi juggernaut’s explosiveness at the breakdown.

At times in the opening exchanges the Blues looked to get away with murder when the ball went to ground.

At one stage the ball dislodged by the foot of a Blues player coming back through the ruck, only for play-on to be called.

At another, the visitors were afforded the chance to play on for an extensive period of time following foul play, before a long review pulled it up.

Reds coach Les Kiss, when asked about his views on the way the breakdown was managed, paused for long periods before addressing the question.

“Yes I’ve got thoughts. It is what it is, that’s all there is to it,” Kiss said.

“It’s a part we just have to try to manage better ourselves I guess, and we’ll take responsibility for what we have. The breakdown is an area that can be interpreted in many different ways, and the stuff that happens in there you leave it to the people who are officiating.”

Kiss’ men were brave and fought down to the wire, but McReight’s ability to force a turnover or two was missed, especially as they sought to close out such a close affair.