Saturday afternoon rugby saw the Reds trying to break their four game losing streak and Lions looking to extend their wins away from home. The Reds were celebrating Club Rugby round so the players wore the socks of their clubs. And in other news, Benny Lucas had a haircut.
The Match
Attacking early inside the Lions 22 the Reds showed more physicality than they had in previous matches. A lineout throw to Douglas saw an energised JP Smith cross for the Reds first try in only the first minute of the match.
The physicality of the Reds manifested itself in big tackles, support at the breakdown and big stepping, big charging line breaks. They were quick to get back in the defensive line and showed a level of maturity in kick placement that was refreshing. Where had this play. this level of commitment been the last few weeks?
Caleb Timu had a cracker run from 45m out and was almost out of puff at the tryline, but he just made it for the Reds’ second try.
The one consistent and frustrating piece of the Reds play so far to date is their early turnover in some of the play – they were struggling to make it past the first phase because of silly mistakes and popped ball. I think some of the difficulty may have been holding their ground in scrums because of the veeerrry sandy deck. You could visibly see the chunks of turf and sand fly around when they engaged.
The Reds third try was a thing of beauty that saw hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa score his second Super Rugby try. Young Hamish Stewart made a brilliant break to get within 5m. Timu then offloaded to Paenga-Amosa cross and the Reds were up 3-0. What. The.
Timu had had a cracker of a match so far in attack and defence but unfortunately rolled his ankle and had to go off at 29′ mark. For the rest of the match Smith and Scott-Young played at 8.
Talking about Smith, the evergreen George Smith scored after the buzzer after Adam Korczyk flicked the ball between his legs only centimetres from the line.
The Reds went into the sheds at half time up 4 tries to nil. What. The.
And I know I haven’t mentioned the Lions yet, but really, so far this has been a little bit like an opposed training session with the subbies. They weren’t there at all in the first half. And in case you were wondering I waited until the end of the match to write this line. Who the heck wants to tempt fate like that?!
The Lions subbed the bulk of their front row early in the match with van Rooyen and Dreyer leaving the field at 44′. van Rooyen in particular had been no match for Taniela Tupou, going to his knees with a regularity that should have been seen by AFG, but he was over the other side of the scrum.
The Reds spent a little time in the Lions’ half and threatened a try, but with fresh legs in the Lions scrum, the best they came away with was a successful penalty.
For the first time I can recall, a player admitted the ball was lost forward in a try. Well done to Lions inside centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg for copping to it to Gardner.
The Lions hit back with two quick tries to their fabulous hooker Malcom Marx in both the 54′ and 60′.
The momentum after half time was definitely the Lions way. At the 62′ mark the Reds had only had 23% of the possession in the second half. Interestingly across the 62′ the Reds had only had 35% possession. They had managed to make some magic with not a lot of ball.
The Lions continued to push to close the deficit and many of the Reds players were out on their feet and our bench is generally pretty young. Manus Schoeman crossed twice in the dying minutes to make the game close and to justify the choice to kick for penalty by Daugunu early in the second half.
The Reds finished the match unlikely victors, 27-22.
Final Reds washup
In the final wash-up – our aimless kicking (seemingly not for position, not chased down and not for touch) continues to hurt us.
Daugunu continues to impress chasing down his own kick fiercely to put the Lions under pressure in the dying minutes.
Toua still doesn’t make an impact unless he is making a mistake.
Hamish Stewart really came into his own this match – his defense was brilliant and isn’t something Reds fans often see at 10.
Lucas had a much better match – perhaps Sorovi’s great cameo last week elevated him. That or his new hair cut.
JP Smith had a blinder, playing almost 78 minutes. Good signing.
The Lions will be a little shocked but not really wounded by the loss and the young Reds will benefit from a week off before they go the Japan to do battle with the Sunwolves.
[one_third last=”no”]
The Game Changer
The loss to the Chiefs last week clearly galvanised coach and players in defence as well as attack. The Reds lacked possession in the second half, but continued to front tackle after tackle to hold out for a win. 146 to 68 tackles across the match. Massive heart showed by the Reds players with this stat.[/one_third][one_third last=”no”]
The G&GR MOTM
Hamish Stewart for his debut run-on had a great match. Not afraid to make the big tackles in defense, he saved several sure tries. Still a ways to go in the playmaking, match directing space, but promising from one so young.[/one_third][one_third last=”yes”]
Wallaby watch
I can’t even think about the Wallabies at this stage, Australian rugby is still hurting so badly. Maybe in a year or two.[/one_third]
The Details
Crowd: 12,369
Score & Scorers
[one_half last=”no”]Reds: 27
Tries: JP Smith, Timu, Paenga-Amosa, G Smith
Conversions: Stewart 0/2, Daugunu 2/2
Penalties: Daugunu 1/1 [/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”]Lions: 22
Tries: Marx, Schoeman
Conversions: Jantjies 1/4[/one_half]
