Super Rugby: Reds’ Seru Uru stars as Queensland end Waratahs undefeated run
The Waratahs have suffered their first defeat in the Dan McKellar era - and the new coach didn’t hold back in his assessment of their performance in the tough defeat to Queensland.
Furious Waratahs coach Dan McKellar labelled the 22-metre rolling maul try conceded by his team as “borderline embarrassing” after suffering his first loss of the season to Queensland.
Reds replacement hooker Richie Asiata scored the 33rd minute try after their pack rolled the Tahs back nearly a quarter of the field, which a livid McKellar said was one of a number of “soft” moments by his side in their 35-15 defeat.
McKellar has developed a reputation as one of the best rolling maul coaches around, particularly during his time at the Brumbies when the move delivered a stack of tries, so it was particularly galling for him to experience the receiving end.
The Tahs dominated the early stages of the game, but Queensland fought back after a 16-th minute yellow card to Andrew Kellaway for a dangerous tackle on Harry Wilson, who rebuked his Wallabies teammate.
“That yellow card, we fell off a cliff, and some really soft moments, that maul try was borderline embarrassing for all involved,” McKellar said.
“At 21-8 (down) we were pretty positive at half-time around if we just executed what we discussed and what we trained, then we felt we could get right back into the game.
“But again, just a couple of soft moments, and if you give the Reds soft moments, they’ll take advantage of it, especially at home.
“I thought for the first 20 minutes, we were probably the dominant side, and for the next 60, they certainly were. So, we got what we deserved.”
NSW captain Hugh Sinclair, when asked if there would be an easy solution to prevent his side from conceding another rolling maul try like that, replied: “I think it’s a pretty simple fix, we’ve got to put the head in the maul and stop it.”
McKellar then interjected: “It’s hard to stop a rolling maul if you stand there and watch it.”
Reds coach Les Kiss grinned proudly when asked about the maul try.
“It’s important isn’t it? The graft and the grit, that determination at times we needed to bring to the fore was important,” Kiss said.
“I’ve got to say, we always recognise and value what the forwards do and what they need to. But I thought the backs really turned up at times when it needed to.”
When it was put to McKellar that he was down on troops, including sidelined stars Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and captain Jake Gordon, he rejected the premise.
“No excuse, absolutely no excuse,” McKellar said.
“We’ve got full confidence in the group that came here, trained really well, prepared well all week, and did some good things within patches. But patches don’t beat quality teams.”
With the win, the Reds have climbed to third on the Super Rugby Pacific table, under the Chiefs and Crusaders.
The Brumbies, fourth, and the fifth-placed Waratahs, play each other in Sydney next Saturday.
The tense build-up to the grudge match between the Reds and Tahs failed to play out on the field at Suncorp Stadium.
“I was chatting to Les before the game, and we just want to have positive stories,” McKellar said.
“I would have liked it to be more of a contest. The disappointing part for me is the first 20 minutes, we did what we spoke about, and then we went away from that and fell away from it, and that’s the disappointing component from our end.”
Reds flanker Fraser McReight left the field after injuring his shoulder scoring a try, and was in a sling after the game.
“Definitely an AC thing for Fraser,” Kiss said. He’s just in a sling just to keep it immobilised for the time being.
“I don’t think it will be anything sinister by the sounds of things.”
Kiss was particularly proud that his group of players remained calm following a resounding defeat to the Crusaders in their previous match.
“I give credit to these guys,” Kiss said of his players.
“We had a good discussion after it. I think the important thing is we didn’t catastrophise last week.
“These guys kept a bloody level head about, we are still going okay. One game like that wasn’t going to throw us off how we wanted to land our game. And I take my hat off to Tate (McDermott) and Fraser and the leadership.
“They just kept us on track with Harry (Wilson) and Fez (Matt Faessler). And I thought that was critical for us, that we just didn’t think everything was wrong. Just a few things went wrong and we corrected the right things and these boys, they took that forward and made sure that happened.”
TAHS’ MISERY SEALED WITH A KISS AS REDS ENJOY LAST LAUGH
A stellar performance from Seru Uru helped Queensland crush NSW in Brisbane, inflicting the first defeat of Dan McKellar’s Waratahs tenure.
Uru was outstanding, and fellow backrower Harry Wilson back to his best, as the Reds returned to the winner’s circle with the 35-15 win after suffering their first loss of the season to the Crusaders the week prior.
It was a statement victory for Reds coach Les Kiss, who leads the race to be the next Wallabies coach, after it was revealed this week Rugby Australia had not interviewed McKellar for the job.
But there are concerns over star flanker Fraser McReight, who was in a sling after the game after being injured while scoring a try.
Queensland retained the Bob Templeton Cup with the 20-point victory at Suncorp Stadium in front of a crowd of 20,072.
Uru was all over the park, making breaks, backing up in wider channels, making tough tackles in the midfield, setting up breaks and winning lineouts.
The 28-year-old returned to the starting side from injury and didn’t miss a beat.
He even attempted a chip over the defence in the dying stages, that was collected by his halfback Kalani Thomas before being bundled into touch close to the line.
Wilson was a dominant powerhouse, while Tom Lynagh kicked a perfect five from five goals and constantly pushed NSW back with his long kicking game.
NSW started with precision, peppering the Reds’ line before winger Triston Reilly crossed in the second minute with a catch and dive.
The Tahs’ umbrella defence rushed Queensland’s attack and forced them into errors.
But the momentum changed when fullback Andrew Kellaway was sin-binned for a tip tackle on Wilson in the 16th minute.
Four minutes later, his opposite, Heremaia Murray, received a clearing punt and kicked over the Tahs defence. With nobody covering the spot Kellaway would normally defend, Murray was able to chase through and regather the ball before racing to the line.
NSW hit back 8-7 with a 25th minute Creighton penalty, but the rest of the half belonged to the Reds.
Wilson barged through centre Joey Walton for an eye-catching try in the 29th minute.
Then replacement hooker Richie Asiata, who had only just stepped on to the field replacing Matt Faessler, finished a 22-metre rolling maul try in the 33rd minute that will have had steam coming from McKellar’s ears.
The Tahs are attempting to build a game around tough, unrelenting defence, and this was a shattering blow to that aim.
The 21-8 halftime lead was extended just five minutes into the second half when quick hands down the touchline, including a deft pass from Uru, freed McReight.
Fresh from signing his three-year contract extension with Rugby Australia the Reds this week, the flanker dummied inside and beat Kellaway to score in the corner for a fitting celebration.
But that was short-lived as he landed awkwardly on his shoulder while touching down, and was soon taken off the field.
The match dissolved into a messy, scrappy affair as NSW tried and failed to close the gap.
In the 66th minute, replacement Reds lock Angus Blyth put the result beyond doubt when he powered over after nine Queensland attacking phases at the Tahs’ line.
At 35-8, it seemed a half century was possible for the Reds.
But Langi Gleeson scored a try from close range to make the score line slightly more respectable.
Missing captain and halfback Jake Gordon, and star fullback Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was an obvious weakness for the Tahs.
Suaalii is a chance to return next week against the Brumbies but Gordon will be sidelined for another three weeks.
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