Reds rusty in trial win

Reds rusty in trial win

January 20, 2007

QUEENSLAND posted a 31-3 victory over an amateur Manu Samoa outfit at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast but the lopsided scoreline flattered the Reds less than a fortnight out from the start of the Super 14 competition.

Coach Eddie Jones and his players have plenty of hard work ahead before they host the Hurricanes on February 3 in their Super 14 season-opener at Suncorp Stadium.

The Reds dropped far too much ball, blew several try-scoring opportunities and at times looked a rabble in attack, especially during the first half when they went to the break with a 12-3 lead against a Samoa squad that copped a pasting in its recent tour of South Africa.

League recruit Clinton Schifcofske, playing his first rugby match in Australia, hardly touched the ball in the first half but made some telling runs in the latter part of the match, setting up a 63rd minute try for David Croft.

Skipper John Roe was a shining light for the Reds, scoring their opening try – which didn't arrive until the 25th minute – and pulling off some bone-rattling tackles. The Samoans put first points on the board after six minutes through five-eighth Lolo Lui's drop goal and although they never really threatened, the visitors were relentless and didn't back down from the tough stuff.

AAP

Will the Samoa side we play be full strength?

They will be without their European players Shaun but I'm sure they will play the best of what they have available if that is what you meant?
They will be playing to win and will be pretty determined and physical, should be a good hit out.

Rule no. 1 for Western Force supporters Shaun - if the Reds beat them it was because Samoa was weak and amateurish; in the context of our playing Samoa, whether we win or lose against them they are obviously a very powerful side.

Schifcofske an asset for Reds: Jones

Sunday, January 21, 2007, c/o Rugby Heaven

League recruit Clinton Schifcofske lived up to the hype surrounding the elusive fullback to help Queensland post a scrappy 31-3 victory over Manu Samoa in a rugby trial at Carrara Stadium last night.

The lopsided scoreline flattered the Reds less than a fortnight out from the start of the Super 14 rugby competition, with dropped ball and a poor scrum causing them all kinds of problems against a team of amateurs.

The Reds improved in the second half but they have plenty of hard work ahead before taking on the Hurricanes in their Super 14 season opener at Suncorp Stadium on February 3.

Queensland were horrible in the first half and held a 12-3 lead at the break against a team the Cheetahs thrashed 73-19 in South Africa last week.

But they found some momentum in the second half to eventually run out five tries to nil victors in front of 3542 spectators.

Schifcofske, playing his first rugby match in Australia, hardly touched the ball in the opening half but made some telling runs later on, setting up a 63rd-minute try for David Croft.

"It looked like he was playing for the [Gold Coast] Titans there at one stage," Queensland coach Eddie Jones joked.

"He's coming along nicely. He's going to be a good player for us.

"He's still learning the game but he's starting to get more touches and he's got that ability to beat that first tackler."

It was happier memories for the former Canberra Raider than the last time he played on the Gold Coast - a 52-0 NRL loss to the Bulldogs in 2004.

"I want to do well really bad and I'm a pretty determined sort of person," Schifcofske said about making his mark in rugby.

"That's come with maturity and age. I want to make every post a winner."

With Chris Latham out with a long-term knee injury, Schifcofske will be crucial to Queensland's Super 14 hopes this year.

Jones said he wasn't happy with last night's effort in the first half when a massive 30 scrums were set.

But the former Wallaby mentor wasn't too concerned considering the three-day turnaround from Queensland's 38-9 loss to the Blues in New Zealand.

"It was a test of how we could react to difficult situations," he said.

"I thought initially we were pretty slow ... but again there were some good lessons for our younger players.

"It's nice to get a win and I was happy with how we applied ourselves in that second half."

The Reds will have their final pre-season hit-out against the Highlanders at the same ground on Friday night.

AAP

30 scrums in the first half, holy crap...Must have been horrible to watch, the game i mean, not the scrummaging...Lots of dropped ball and knock ons i presume, with a lot of forwards calling the backs all sorts of names under thier breath as they ran to the next scrum...

Don't lie frontrow, you would have loved it ;)

If it was snowing or blowing a gale, sure, it`s good to be huddled in a nice cosy scrum, otherwise, it really is hardwork...Bloody backs oughta learn to hold onto the bloody ball...

Digby, please read Frontrows post.