Brad Thorn full of praise as Reds push Stormers close in Cape Town

The Queensland Reds amazingly were still right in the contest at the 81st minute against the Stormers.

Reds winger Filipo Daugunu dives over for a late try against the Stormers in Cape Town. Picture: AFP

The Queensland Reds were still in the contest at the 81st minute against the Stormers yesterday ­despite their 18-hour diversion to London, although there were two stings in the tail as they left Cape Town: the citing of Taniela Tupou and the crisis engulfing the ­Australian cricketers.

It was a testing afternoon for Tupou, the strongman of the Reds scrum. Not only was he neutered in the scrums by South African ­referee Marius van der Westhuizen, who repeatedly penalised him, sometimes before the set piece had even fully engaged, but he then was charged by the citing commissioner with a dangerous tackle on the Stormers’ Craig Barry.

The Stormers winger immediately regained his feet but the ­referee referred the incident to the television match official on the run as play continued. At the next break, when asked by opposing captain Siya Kolisi about the ­tackle, van der Westhuizen replied: “I’ve checked it with the TMO. It was fine.”

Nonetheless, the citing commission ruled that Tupou has breached the red card threshold, though early indications are that the Reds, none too happy with SANZAAR for not alerting them to the need to have yellow fever vaccinations before entering South Africa after being in South America, will fight the charge.

Although team officials became aware of the rumbling coming from nearby Newlands cricket ground as the Reds warmed up for their 5.15pm (local time) game, they kept the news from the ­players. It was only at fulltime when the players checked in to see how their fellow Australian hotel guests had fared in the day’s play that the realisation dawned.

“Disbelief,” was how team press officer Tom Kennedy described their reaction.

That same word could have described the emotions of the Stormers’ players and fans at the end of the match as a game they had considered won but suddenly was up-ended to such a degree that the Reds could feel aggrieved not to have claimed victory in extra time.

The Stormers led 25-14 going into the 79th minute when former Fijian under-20 goalkeeper Filipo Daugunu broke clear on his own line and ran more than 90m to earn Queensland a losing bonus point. But then, in the final minute of play, fullback Aidan Toua, who had been taken off but had to ­return to the field as a replacement for Chris Feauai-Sautia (head knock), burst through the South Africans’ defence.

A penalty on halfway allowed Jono Lance to kick the ball into the corner but from the ensuing lineout the Stormers collapsed the Reds’ driving maul as the Reds inched closer and yet van der Westhuizen blew fulltime with the score at 25-19.

Coach Brad Thorn had nothing but praise for his side.

“Going right down to the wire … it almost caught me by surprise,” Thorn said. “18-0 down, games can easily blow out but the boys just kept on competing. Well done to the Stormers but there’s a lot for us to take out of that.”

Captain James Slipper, who celebrated his 100th Super Rugby game, all for the Reds, chose his words diplomatically at the post-match press conference. “I thought we let the referee dictate a bit too much what was going on in the middle. I thought it was a good contest, with both teams competing pretty hard,” Slipper said.

Flanker Adam Korczyk competed hard, as did No 8 Caleb Timu, who was moved to the side of the scrum when Scott Higginbotham returned from suspension in the second half.

But all the old problems resurfaced with the Duncan Paia’aua-Samu Kerevi centre pairing. Kerevi has difficulty with his ­defensive reads at outside centre, but he is so dangerous in attack that a place must be found for him.

The Melbourne Rebels, meanwhile, have arrived in brilliant form at the first trans-Tasman meeting of the season, against the Hurricanes at AAMI Park on ­Friday night, thrashing the Sharks by the biggest margin in Rebels history, 46-14. But against the Beauden Barrett-directed Canes, who warmed up with a 29-12 win over the Highlanders, the margin for error is negligible.

“How can you not respect the Hurricanes for what they achieved but we’re in a building process here and I think the challenge for us is to come out and be all guns blazing and give it a crack,” Melbourne coach Dave Wessels said.

“There are a lot of different ways to be successful. We’re just trying to find a style of play that is true to the DNA of the people in the group.”