Publications
Partners
Brisbane - The Reds knocked Blues off the top of the Vodacom Super Rugby standings and extended their lead in the Australian Conference with a 37-31 win over the Blues in Brisbane on Friday.
Both sides scored four tries and the Blues fell behind 24-0 in the opening 30 minutes before clinching their second bonus point with their fourth try by Rene Ranger minutes after the full-time siren.
The Reds lead the overall standings by just one point from the Blues but by a whopping 14 points over the Waratahs in the Australian Conference and are looking virtually certain of taking their place in the playoffs next month.
Flyhalf Quade Cooper took over from fellow Wallaby James O'Connor (156) as the southern hemisphere championship series leading points scorer with 166 after scoring 22 from a try, four conversions and three penalty goals.
Both sides enhanced their title claims with a cracking attacking performance in the 68-point thriller with the Blues narrowly ending their unbeaten nine-match run.
The Reds will have a much-needed bye next weekend before taking on seven time champions, the Crusaders in Brisbane on Sunday, May 29.
"We tried to starve the Blues of possession and we did that early in the first half and when they put their phases together they are a very hard team to stop," Reds' skipper James Horwill said.
"We needed to keep the ball and convert pressure into points and we did that in stages in the second half."
The Reds got off to a flying start with converted tries from Cooper, Saia Faingaa, Scott Higginbotham but the Blues hit back with quick tries from Chris Lowrey and Lachie Munro to reduce the deficit to 27-14 at half-time.
The Blues looked to be reeling in the Reds' lead when scrumhalf Alby Mathewson scored off a Stephen Brett break and a Luke McAlister conversion and penalty nudged the New Zealanders to within three points at 27-24.
But that was as close as they got to the much-improved Reds, who pulled away to 37-24 with a charged-down try from replacement hooker James Hanson and a conversion and penalty from Cooper.
Auckland stormed the Reds' line as the full-time siren sounded in search of a bonus point fourth try and were finally rewarded when Ranger crossed wide out for McAlister to convert from the sideline.
"You can't start the game 24 points down but we'll learn from this and we've come away with two points," Blues' skipper Keven Mealamu said.
"We missed a lot of one-on-one tackles in the first half and that kills you in a game like this."
The Blues will have home advantage next Friday against the Stormers.
Teams:
Reds:
15 Ben Lucas, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Anthony Faingaa, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Radike Samo, 7 Beau Robinson, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 James Horwill (captain), 4 Rob Simmons, 3 James Slipper, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Ben Daley
Substitutes: 16 James Hanson, 17 Guy Shepherdson, 18 Adam Wallace-Harrison, 19 Jake Schatz, 20 Ian Prior, 21 Will Chambers, 22 Dom Shipperley
Blues:
15 Jared Payne, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Benson Stanley, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Rene Ranger, 10 Stephen Brett, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Peter Saili, 7 Luke Braid, 6 Chris Lowrey, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Anthony Boric, 3 John Afoa, 2 Keven Mealamu (captain), 1 Tevita Mailau
Substitutes: 16 Tom McCartney, 17 Pauliasi Manu, 18 James King, 19 Sean Polwart, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Lachie Munro, 22 Sherwin Stowers
Both sides scored four tries and the Blues fell behind 24-0 in the opening 30 minutes before clinching their second bonus point with their fourth try by Rene Ranger minutes after the full-time siren.
The Reds lead the overall standings by just one point from the Blues but by a whopping 14 points over the Waratahs in the Australian Conference and are looking virtually certain of taking their place in the playoffs next month.
Flyhalf Quade Cooper took over from fellow Wallaby James O'Connor (156) as the southern hemisphere championship series leading points scorer with 166 after scoring 22 from a try, four conversions and three penalty goals.
Both sides enhanced their title claims with a cracking attacking performance in the 68-point thriller with the Blues narrowly ending their unbeaten nine-match run.
The Reds will have a much-needed bye next weekend before taking on seven time champions, the Crusaders in Brisbane on Sunday, May 29.
"We tried to starve the Blues of possession and we did that early in the first half and when they put their phases together they are a very hard team to stop," Reds' skipper James Horwill said.
"We needed to keep the ball and convert pressure into points and we did that in stages in the second half."
The Reds got off to a flying start with converted tries from Cooper, Saia Faingaa, Scott Higginbotham but the Blues hit back with quick tries from Chris Lowrey and Lachie Munro to reduce the deficit to 27-14 at half-time.
The Blues looked to be reeling in the Reds' lead when scrumhalf Alby Mathewson scored off a Stephen Brett break and a Luke McAlister conversion and penalty nudged the New Zealanders to within three points at 27-24.
But that was as close as they got to the much-improved Reds, who pulled away to 37-24 with a charged-down try from replacement hooker James Hanson and a conversion and penalty from Cooper.
Auckland stormed the Reds' line as the full-time siren sounded in search of a bonus point fourth try and were finally rewarded when Ranger crossed wide out for McAlister to convert from the sideline.
"You can't start the game 24 points down but we'll learn from this and we've come away with two points," Blues' skipper Keven Mealamu said.
"We missed a lot of one-on-one tackles in the first half and that kills you in a game like this."
The Blues will have home advantage next Friday against the Stormers.
Teams:
Reds:
15 Ben Lucas, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Anthony Faingaa, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Radike Samo, 7 Beau Robinson, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 James Horwill (captain), 4 Rob Simmons, 3 James Slipper, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Ben Daley
Substitutes: 16 James Hanson, 17 Guy Shepherdson, 18 Adam Wallace-Harrison, 19 Jake Schatz, 20 Ian Prior, 21 Will Chambers, 22 Dom Shipperley
Blues:
15 Jared Payne, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Benson Stanley, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Rene Ranger, 10 Stephen Brett, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Peter Saili, 7 Luke Braid, 6 Chris Lowrey, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Anthony Boric, 3 John Afoa, 2 Keven Mealamu (captain), 1 Tevita Mailau
Substitutes: 16 Tom McCartney, 17 Pauliasi Manu, 18 James King, 19 Sean Polwart, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Lachie Munro, 22 Sherwin Stowers
