Queensland fans get to say sayonara to the Sunwolves this weekend in Brisbane, but will they be waving goodbye to their team’s finals hopes as well?
The Reds finally get to play a home game, having spent much of the last three weeks living out of their luggage in hotels across the southern hemisphere. Whether two bonus point losses and brilliant first forty against the Jaguares, will be enough to drag the many jaded rugby fans back is yet to be seen.
Personally, I think there remains a hell of a lot to like about this team with some exciting talent across the park. The crowds might be back immediately, but if they can expand on their first half performance last week then the bandwagon will be stopping all stops down the track.
In reality the Reds simply must win. And they must win big. On the back of their first round upset of the Rebels, the Sunwolves currently sit above the Reds on the conference ladder with the Rebels just a few extra for and against points above them in 2nd. Sitting atop the Australian ladder are the Brumbies with two wins.
But the Brumbies will finally step out of cosy little Canberra this weekend as they take on the Cheifs in Hamilton. With the Rebels also taking on their first opponent from outside the conference, in the Sharks, we will get a better understanding of where the Aussie teams lie come Sunday. The competitiveness of these games makes the Reds v Sunwolves clash even more important.
This is not to discredit the visiting team who surprised many with their efforts and effectiveness in their Round 1 win over the Rebels. But that was a dire Rebels performance, underdone by a lack of proper trial time. Since then the Sunwolves had had a bye and were smashed by Chiefs 43-17.
Teams:
The Reds suffered a blow this week when Jordan Petaia was, again, ruled out for the season due to injury. While disappointing for him, Hunter Paisami probably did more in the 13 jersey last week than Jordan had done in the previous two games.
As a result, Brad Thorn has gone with the same starting XV as took on the Jaguares with some exciting talent returning from the bench. We get to see Harry Hooper, Fraser McReight and Scott Maloula for the first time this season, all returning from various injury concerns. Harry Hocking will be back for his second game having got some minutes last week. Ed Craig will get a potential Super Rugby debut having been drafted into the squad as a replacement for the injured Brandon Paenga-Amosa
The Sunwolves have made all sorts of changes from the team that lost to the Chiefs and if Ben Darwin has taught me anything, this is not the way pull a win out of the bag. They would have been much better sticking with the same outfit and continue to work on their combinations.
There are so many former QLD players in this Sunwolves outfit its almost a Brumbies C team. It’s no where near as strong as the outfit we saw surprise many last year, although there are a smattering of familiar faces. Unfortunately for the Sunwolves they are familiar because of their participation in the NRC and club footy, rather than anything on the international stage.
Key Match Ups:
Reds v the discipline:
Forget the debacle that was most of last week’s game v the Jaguares from a match officiating perspective, the Reds remain disappointing from a discipline perspective. The likes of Angus Blythe, Taniela Tupou and Lukhan Salakai-Loto were caught out more times than they should have last week and the team suffered because of it. The Reds need to be better at backing their team mates by doing the little 1%ers better to ensure the win they need is earned on Saturday night.
Reds v the ex-Reds:
Just a nice little by-play to this game. The strategic decisions made by the powers that be around the future Sunwolves, has meant that their 2020 squad is somewhat ‘eclectic’. We’ve always had a few ex-Reds we could ‘cheer’ for, with Ed Quirk generally front of the line. This year is no different with another former backrower, Jake Schatz, back in Brisbane as captain no less. Further afield is Efi Ma’afu, on the bench as backup hooker, who likely would have been filling such a duty for the Reds had he not headed north a month or so ago. The locks include former Brisbane City lock, Corey Thomas and Tigers player and Reds Academy forward, Michael Stolberg. And of course, there is ‘peak’ Ben Te’o formerly a Queensland State of Origin player.
Prediction:
Stuff a prediction. I DEMAND a 20-point, bonus point victory.
TEAMS
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Reds
1. JP Smith
2. Alex Mafi
3. Taniela Tupou
4. Izack Rodda
5. Angus Blyth
6. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto
7. Liam Wright ©
8. Harry Wilson
9. Tate McDermott
10. James O’Connor
11. Henry Speight
12. Hamish Stewart
13. Hunter Paisami
14. Chris Feauai-Sautia
15. Jock Campbell
16. Ed Craig
17. Harry Hoopert
18. Josh Nasser
19. Harry Hockings
20. Fraser McReight
21. Scott Maloula
22. Isaac Lucas
23. Bryce Hegarty
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Sunwolves
1 Chris Eves
2 Jaba Bregvadze
3 Conrad van Vuuren
4 Corey Thomas
5 Michael Stolberg
6 Kyo Yoshida
7 Mitch Jacobson
8 Jake Schatz
9 Naoto Saito
10 Garth April
11 James Dargaville
12 Ben Te’o
13 JJ Engelbrecht
14 Siosaia Fifita
15 Jordan Jackson-Hope
16 Efi Ma’afu
17 Nic Mayhew
18 Hencus van Wyk
19 Kotaro Yatabe
20 Tevita Tupou
21 Rudy Paige
22 Keisuke Moriya
23 Shogo Nakano
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
MATCH DEETS
Date: Saturday 22 February
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-Off: 6:15pm Briso time
Referee: Nic Berry
Assistant Ref 1: Jordan Way
Assistant Ref 2: Aaron Pook
TMO :James Leckie [/one_third]
