Super Rugby: A star is born, but hat trick not enough for the Reds
A superstar was born at Suncorp Stadium when Queensland Reds winger Tim Ryan scored three epic tries in a seesawing starting debut, but it wasn’t enough for the home side.
A superstar was born at Suncorp Stadium when Queensland Reds winger Tim Ryan scored three epic tries in a seesawing starting debut which the home side lost 41-34 against the Blues.
Ryan was the star of the show, and did not deserve to be on the losing side. But in the dying moments, the Reds were their worst enemies, fumbling a 34-27 lead with five minutes left, and then collapsing in the final minute of play when two errors cost them a shot at bonus point with the scores level at 34-apiece.
With the clock dwindling down and an opportunity to claim victory in extra time looming, Louis Werchon pushed a long pass to reserve lock Joe Brial, who fumbled the ball.
From there, the Blues went 40m through All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke before he found matchwinning scrumhalf Sam Nock, who broke the hearts of Queensland on the hooter with a crowd-silencing five-pointer. Suliasi Vunivalu coming in off his wing was the Reds second fatal mistake which starved them another chance to win the game.
“It’s what we expected coming here to Brisbane, a hostile environment, good side on their given day,” game winner Nock told Stan Sport.
“We had to grind for that right down to the last try.
“We were our own worst enemies at times (in the first half).”
Reds No.8 Harry Wilson said his side “let that slip” after Ryan had stamped his mark on the biggest stage.
“That was amazing from Tim Ryan,” Wilson said of the ‘junk yard dog’ who “goes 100 per cent” at training.
“We saw the way he played tonight, It’s no surprise. He has done it at every level he has played and he was a game changer for us tonight.”
Ryan’s tries were not just normal tries scored by your typical winger, they were exciting, fantastic finishes only players with raw talent could produce.
His first was a 50m sprint off the Hunter Paisami assist, his second an incredible finish in the left corner and his third a piece of brilliance.
Halfback Louis Werchon attacked the blindside with a white hot Ryan, with flames steaming off his boot, on his left.
Finally when Ryan got the ball, he stepped inside and quickly back outside to completely bamboozle Taufa Funaki with a step 16325 vocal rugby fans had to have enjoyed.
From there, the 20-year-old junior Wallaby who attended St Patrick’s College Shorncliffe, had the pace and footwork to evade last line defender Cole Forbes to land his third try.
The only other time a Reds player has scored a hattrick was speed demon ‘Rocket’ Rod Davies against the Blues in the 2011 semi final.
“I told the guys at the end there I think they did the jersey justice and the occasion justice,” Reds co-captain Liam Wright told Stan Sport following an Anzac weekend spectacle at The Cauldron.
A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE
20-year-old quicksilver winger Tim Ryan made his Super Rugby Pacific starting debut on Saturday night and his three try barrage indicates he is a future star.
From just one play where Ryan scooped up loose ball, regained his own chip kick, and found Brothers club mate Josh Flook on his right, Reds supporters saw enough to be excited.
Ryan, who had come in for Mac Grealy to have a rest, has something you can’t teach and that is pace. He is an elusive player, of immense potential.
Before last year’s StoreLocal Hospital Cup grand final between Brothers and Wests, then Brothers coach Brendan Gabbett said this of Ryan prior to his team’s grand final victory.
‘I don’t doubt that he could be a Wallaby. If we do the right thing with Tim Ryan as a code … Let him play week-in-week-out he could be a Wallaby that makes a difference not just a Wallaby.”
Indeed the lightweight young gun, who weighs 84 kilograms, showed that Wallaby potential during his starting debut for Queensland.
The last time he scored three tries in a game was a four try haul against Padua College as a Year 12 student playing AIC schoolboy rugby.
TWO IN TWO
If Ryan’s ambitious chip and chase in the first half wasn’t impressive enough, his 50m try in the second half, the Reds second try in two minutes, had to be enough.
The Reds trailed 13-6, before a Suliasi Vunivalu try and a stunning Ryan try, orchestrated by in form centre Hunter Paisami who regained his own chip kick and unloaded to Ryan, turned the match on its head.
In less than three minutes, the Reds turned a 13-6 deficit into a 19-13 lead with 28 minutes left in the contest.
Ryan and hardworking No.8 Harry Wilson then combined to produce a trysaver on Blues forward battleship Hoskins Sototu moments later.
The livewire winger was everywhere in an 11-try bonanza at Suncorp.
TAHS LOCKED IN FINALS BATTLE
by Jon Geddes
The Waratahs face a huge challenge to make the Super Rugby finals after being beaten by bogey team the Chiefs 38-22 at Allianz Stadium on Friday night.
It marked the eighth consecutive occasion that the New Zealanders from Waikato have beaten NSW in a Super Rugby clash and heading into the latest showdown the winning margin was an average 22.1 points.
The Waratahs now find themselves with two wins, seven losses and another five rounds left before the play-offs.
After the Force play the Highlanders on Saturday, NSW are set to drop to 11th spot on the table. That is the scenario after the Crusaders shock 39-0 thrashing of the Rebels in Friday’s early game.
The Waratahs showed what they are capable of with an impressive the first 20 minutes when they raced to a 12-0 lead. But by halftime the Chiefs had levelled the scores at 12-all.
After the break the Chiefs unleashed and showed why they are such a threat in this competition.
“It was really fast and really physical at the start,” said Waratahs centre Lalakai Foketi.
“We knew they would come out swinging and we wanted to match that.
“I thought our first 30 was really good, but we couldn’t maintain it.
“It was really frustrating … we knew they were going to use their backs and we knew what was coming.”
Waratahs skipper Jake Gordon said the first 40 minutes was a good battle.
“I thought we controlled field position, I thought we were getting confidence through our maul.” he said.
“The second half probably wasn’t as consistent, we turned pill over in the wrong side of the field and we allowed their backs to get quality ball and they were too good.”
Gordon said the Waratahs needed to find a way to get into the Chiefs territory a bit more in the second half.
“We knew how dangerous they were with the ball so it was a balance with giving them possession and also defending well, so we probably got the balance wrong in the second half,” he said.
And the Waratahs’ campaign only gets tougher in the next two weeks as they face the table-topping Hurricanes in Wellington and third-placed Brumbies in Sydney.
They then take on the Force in Perth, who have been revitalised following the addition of star new recruit Kurtley Beale.
Waratahs winger Mark Nawaqanitawase, who was prominent in his return to the side, believes the team is still very much in race for the Super Rugby finals.
“100 per cent,” he said. “Each week we have to show up no matter who it is.
“That first half was 12-all, if we just held on for another 40 and we’d come away with a win”
The Waratahs were up against it from kick-off on Friday with seven of their 10 contracted frontrowers unavailable for the game, including Wallabies prop Angus Bell whose presence makes such a difference to the team.
“I’ve never had a cluster of injuries in a positional group like this before,” coach Coleman lamented.
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