O’Connor guides Reds to drought-breaking Super Rugby title win

A late try to James O’Connor allowed the Reds to steal victory from the Brumbies in a dramatic end to the Australian Super Rugby season.

O’Connor was the man of the hour for the Reds. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

James O’Connor has capped his rugby redemption by helping the Queensland Reds break their decade-long Super Rugby title drought in an extraordinary final against the Brumbies.

O’Connor dived over to score almost five minutes after time had expired, edging the Reds past a 13-man Brumbies outfit to seal a 19-16 win.

In a frenetic final five minutes, the Brumbies had two men yellow carded to end the match with just 13 men on the field but almost snatched victory, going within an ace of protecting a lead they established with a try to Tom Banks in the 12th minute and maintained until the 84th minute when O’Connor finally beat their exhausted defenders.

O’Connor – who returned from overseas exile in 2019 to link with the Reds and has helped turn the franchise around while beating his own demons - scored all 19 points for the Reds to cap his return where he stamped himself a great player and leader.

“I’m just super proud of my boys, they came home strong,” said O’Connor, who captained the team to keep his unbeaten record as Reds skipper.

“We started a bit slow but we got there and I’m bloody stoked.

“We know if we keep the ball against the Brumbies they give away a few penalties close to the line and they got sucked in and the rest is history.

“I’m super proud.”

It had seemed the Reds’ destiny to win the title a decade after they last claimed the silverware at the same ground.

But the Brumbies were not about to follow the script and played all over their rivals in the first half before the Reds clawed their way back into the game.

Darcy Swain and Luke Reimer were marched by referee Nick Berry in the final stages, after Rob Valetini - close to the player of the match in a losing team - had his own sideline stint midway through the second half and the Brumbies could not withstand the weight of possession and number of penalties the Reds had in the final stages.

Queensland had two eight-on-six scrums before taking taps from their final two penalties as Berry continued to penalise the Brumbies defence, with O’Connor finally beating his desperate rivals to dive over.

The match was a game of attrition, with both sides going at each other hammer and tong and casualties on both sides.

The Reds lost hard-running forward Harry Wilson early in the second half after he was knocked out following a head clash with Valetini, while Jordan Petaia limped off midway through the second half and Brumbies winger Andy Muirhead was also sidelined with an ankle injury.

Tempers flared on Saturday night. (Photo by Jono Searle/Getty Images)

GREATEST RIVALRY IN AUSTRALIAN RUGBY

Forget the more than century-old rivalry between the Reds and Waratahs, the biggest battle in Australian rugby – and its fiercest – is between Queensland and the Brumbies.

There’s no love lost between these two sides, who have played the first two Super Rugby AU finals, and that was evident again on Saturday night in a match that was as much a war of attrition as a battle of skill.

The pitched battle wasn’t the open contest the crowd of more than 41,637 were hoping for but one of the biggest rugby crowds at Suncorp Stadium in the past decade witnessed one of the great contests.

REDS SCRUM DOMINATION

The Reds dominated the Brumbies pack in their fixture-round wins and the pattern continued on Saturday night, with Taniela Tupou monstering the opposition front row.

The Brumbies were without James Slipper but Tupou was still up against veteran Wallaby Scott Sio and had his measure for most of the match – although conceded a costly penalty just before halftime.

But their lineout remains a worry, if not an outright liability at times, with too much possession thrown away in an area that almost cost them the match.

The Brumbies were outclassed, just, but captain Allan Alaalatoa stood tall, especially with his team reduced to six men, showing his enormous strength and skill in the front row.

THORN A WINNER FOR QUEENSLAND

Brad Thorn has done an amazing job turning around the fortunes of the Reds, who had languished near the bottom of the Super Rugby ladder since their last finals appearance in 2013.

The former All Black came under enormous pressure early in his tenure as he made cultural changes and persevered with local talent, knowing the benefits would come down the line.

Despite playing rugby for the Kiwis, Thorn is a proud Queenslander and few would have derived more pride at helping the Reds become a competitive franchise once again.

QUEENSLAND REDS 19 (Tries: O’Connor; Cons: O’Connor; Pens: O’Connor 4) def

ACT BRUMBIES 16 (Tries: Banks; Cons: Lolesio; Pens: Lolesio 3).