Reds beat Brumbies 27-20 in trial
Jim Morton
February 11, 2012 - 10:59PM
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AAP
Super Rugby champions Queensland kicked off their 2012 campaign with a 27-20 trial victory over a willing Brumbies outfit but aren't much closer to finding the man to replace Quade Cooper.
Auditioning five-eighths Mike Harris and Ben Lucas, looking to wear injured Cooper's No.10 against NSW in the Super Rugby opener on February 25, were starved of ball in a scrappy and stop-start encounter at Cairns' Barlow Park.
It often resembled a cake of soap in the tropical heat as neither side could hold onto possession for longer than a few phases.
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The mistakes, and a host of ruck penalties whistled up by referee Angus Gardner, meant Harris and Lucas had little chance to impress in attack.
Harris narrowly took the points on his goalkicking alone, slotting three from three, including one from the sideline, while Lucas missed all three of his attempts.
Queensland did look better when Lucas was on in the second half but that was mainly due to the insertion of big guns Will Genia, James Horwill, Digby Ioane and three other Wallabies.
Brumbies coach Jake White again ran two sides for his team's second trial and played the stronger in the first half.
The first-string Brumbies dominated possession and territory before halftime but conceded two tries, including a first-minute chargedown to Ben Tapuai, to trail 17-12 at the main break.
Waratahs recruit and captaincy contender Ben Mowen interestingly led them onto the field and called the shots, giving further fuel to a growing expectation the No.8 will be preferred ahead of Wallabies hooker Stephen Moore as skipper.
Moore was left unhappy as he lasted only 12 minutes before being helped off the field with a suspected collarbone injury while fellow Test front-rower Ben Alexander was also replaced early to ice his quad on the bench.
Although the Brumbies backs botched try chances with poor handling, halfback Nic White kept them in touch by slotting four of his six penalty attempts.
Queensland's highlight was a superb 30th-minute try to teenage winger Chris Feauai-Sautia from an electric run by rising halfback Nick Frisby.
Horwill barged over immediately in the second half but the younger Brumbies admirably stayed in the fight with a try to flanker Michael Hooper and closed to 22-20 at three-quarter time.
Fullback contender Luke Morahan produced some nice touches and set up the match-sealer for Ioane when he pounced on a Brumbies error and toed ahead.
In a serious concern for the Brumbies, a downcast Moore was told he'd suffered an AC shoulder injury and will have scans after he flies back to Canberra on Sunday.
Even the detection of minor damage will create a major headache for coach White as Anthony Hegarty stands as his only fit hooker with fellow back-up rake Siliva Silva sidelined by a knee injury.
"The doctor says it could be anything from two weeks to 12 weeks but he thinks it's not too bad," Moore said.
Alexander will also be assessed for an elbow injury.
Otherwise, White was well pleased with his young team, especially the second-half effort by his greenhorns who matched it with the Wallabies-laden Reds.
"These guys are very good rugby players and they won the competition and I thought we competed exceptionally and showed a lot of spirit," he said. "I took a lot of positives out of that fact."
While they scored four tries to one, Reds coach Ewen McKenzie wished the game could have been allowed to flow better and admitted it was difficult get a strong gauge of his five-eighth contenders.
McKenzie praised Harris's kicking game, including his restarts which led to several turnovers, but indicated more would be gained from Thursday's final trial against the Western Force in Perth.
Tapuai was a stand-out for Queensland who emerged unscathed apart from a hamstring concern for fringe outside back Aidan Toua.
© 2012 AAP
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