I didn't think the Reds were that bad to ring the alarm bells, Gnostic. S Fainga'a's lineout work has never been stellar, but his value is in his work around the field. Personally, I want the core hooking jobs done well, as for props too, before the "extras" get overly praised, but he does do the "extras" quite well. At least he is on the park, as opposed to the 2 more highly fancied hookers, one of whom has a death-wish of sorts.
Higgers had some good work, but he needs to ignore the niggle - as you say he could have been punted at least once, and he is a better player than that.
Scrappy games brought on by one team (as here) often drag the other team out of the game they want to play (why do it otherwise?) and that was reflected in the Reds play in large parts. They still scored some nice tries, perhaps too easily, but they scored them nonetheless. I expect they will play much better against the Blues next week.
Higgers had some good work, but he needs to ignore the niggle - as you say he could have been punted at least once, and he is a better player than that.
Scrappy games brought on by one team (as here) often drag the other team out of the game they want to play (why do it otherwise?) and that was reflected in the Reds play in large parts. They still scored some nice tries, perhaps too easily, but they scored them nonetheless. I expect they will play much better against the Blues next week.
