Reds down Brumbies 36-14 to revitalise Super Rugby season

The Queenslanders revitalised their Super Rugby season with a soaring 36-14 victory over the Brumbies which has created the momentum of back-to-back wins.

Tate McDermott dives over to score a try for the Reds. Picture: AAP

Former flame Quade Cooper can expect the hottest of receptions at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night now the Reds have suddenly found their mojo.

The Queenslanders revitalised their Super Rugby season with a thumping 36-14 victory over the Brumbies for back-to-back momentum.

It was literally the red-hot Reds at times in enervating 33 degree heat.

The four-try second half statement at Suncorp Stadium should add 5000 fans to the grandstands by the time Cooper, Will Genia and their Melbourne Rebels arrive.

Coach Brad Thorn finally feels he is throwing a smarter, fitter and more consistent Reds side (10 points) at the packed Australian Conference with the Waratahs (14), Rebels (13) and Brumbies (11) now in reach.

“When I finished the good old rollercoaster of my first season, three things stood out (to improve) ... consistency, our smarts and conditioning,” Thorn said.

“You saw more intelligence around our kicking and our defensive maul, we’ve been in it in all our five games, we go to the last minute and we’re nowhere near the full thing.”

Tate McDermott dives over to score a try for the Reds against the Brumbies at Suncorp Stadium. Picture: AAP

The character-filled defence repelled the Brumbies for 27 phases, virtually from the kick-off.

So much of what the Reds have talked about was the backbone of Sunday’s win and Brumbies coach Dan McKellar admitted his men were “dominated and didn’t adapt to stress moments.”

Hammering defence forced chances and, finally, the Reds were good enough to score four of their five tries off turnovers.

They twice repelled the most vaunted rolling maul in Super Rugby, Izack Rodda stole a key lineout and when they had to find a clinical finish for a bonus point it came on full-time with hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa’s try.

“We wanted to take them to a place they may not have been used to in that heat by working them off the park,” skipper Samu Kerevi said.

“We deserve a win like that, not just a close win anymore.”

Samu Kerevi takes on the Brumbies defence at Suncorp Stadium. Picture: Getty Images

Finally, we saw a Reds player who could kick consistently because flyhalf Bryce Hegarty was superb now it can be revealed he couldn’t kick against the NSW Waratahs with the pain from rib damage.

The two tries which broke open the game in a three-minute burst from 10-7 to 24-7 were both long-range beauties that had 13,566 fans roaring.

Kerevi has taken his game to a new level this season with extra skills and thinking beyond running 10 times for 115m.

It was his quick lineout throw and taking the return pass from Sefa Naivalu that set up the 75m team try for Chris Feauai-Sautia and a perfect draw-and-pass guaranteed the Hegarty try.

The Reds cured their slow start syndrome with a 10-0 jump by half-time and the Brumbies melted under the home side’s superior physicality and the heat.

Tate McDermott celebrates scoring a try with his Reds teammates. Picture: AAP

Brumbies prop James Slipper had a fine game against his former club, not just at scrum time but with a fine, diving catch-and-pass for the Henry Speight try just after half-time.

Reds flanker Angus Scott-Young was cited post-match for a punch thrown at Slipper’s head on the ground but it was all but an airswing like Damian Smith’s famous miss on David Campese’s noggin in 1996.

Veteran No.8 Scott Higginbotham was influential and his twisting, surging first try was his 39th and Rodda was his backpack to drive him there.

Taniela Tupou will want all record of the final six minutes of the first half erased from the master tapes at Fox Sports after two loose ball-carries with the try-line in sight.

When things didn’t go well, we didn’t adapt quickly enough and handle that stress. We have to be better at that,” McKellar said.

“It was hard to watch.”

McKellar said Slipper had stepped up.

“We spoke before the game and he was nervous because it was the first occasion against his old club at a ground with a lot of memories for him,” McKellar said.

“He deserves good things to happen. Everyone is pleased, the Reds included, that he’s playing at this level again.”

Wallabies lock Rory Arnold left the field early with a stinger in his right shoulder.

Bryce Hegarty scored a try and produced an improved kicking game. Picture: Getty Images

REDS V BRUMBIES: FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED

1. Attack the game was a pre-season creed and the Reds are spending time on the catch-draw-pass drills at training to make Sunday’s 75m try from a quick lineout seem comfortable. At last.

2. The superior fitness at the Reds has an emblem in prop Feao Fotuaika. No way could he have put in a fine hour at prop in 33-degree heat this time last year when the former labourer was 15kg heavier and gorging on McDonalds fast food.

3. What a difference good kicking and a good chase makes. Bryce Hegarty’s boot from flyhalf was excellent after the team’s kicking had been borderline embarrassing for a month.

4. Reds fans have seen too many false dawns to flock back to Suncorp Stadium without hard results on the board. Only 13,566 was poor. Back-to-back wins deserve to stir a spike when Quade Cooper and Will Genia visit with the Rebels on Saturday. High stakes.

5. Workhorse Izack Rodda typifies the huge value of extra efforts. He stole a key Brumbies lineout throw early and latched on to Scott Higginbotham to drive him over for his try. Invaluable player.

QUEENSLAND REDS 36 (Chris Feauai-Sautia, Bryce Hegarty, Scott Higginbotham, Tate McDermott, Brandon Paenga-Amosa tries Hegarty 4 cons pen) bt BRUMBIES 14 (Jahrome Brown, Henry Speight tries Christian Leali’ifano 2 cons) at Suncorp Stadium. Referee: Paul Williams