0
The heavyweight encounter between the St.George Reds and the Crusaders lived up to the hype with a last minute Quade Cooper penalty goal sealing a 17-16 victory in front of a soldout and record-breaking Australian Super Rugby crowd at Suncorp Stadium.
The Reds were inspired by the vocal 48,301 strong crowd with their pulsating two tries to one win extending both their winning streak at Suncorp Stadium to 12 and their dominance on the Super Rugby ladder.
The match was a sellout prior to kickoff with the record attendance figure shattering the previous mark of 42,237 – also set by the Reds in 2004 against the Waratahs.
With three rounds remaining the Reds sit four points clear on top of the Super Rugby ladder, ahead of Auckland’s Blues, while the win has extended their margin in the Australian Conference to 12 points over the NSW Waratahs.
The match was in the balance in the dying stages but it was the pressure from multiple phases and the clutch kicking of Cooper that saw the Reds overcome a 16-14 deficit to score the thrilling win.
“Our crowd is always good but to have 48,000 plus people cheering us home definitely got us over the line,” Head Coach Ewen McKenzie said.
“The guys are still talking about the noise the crowd made when they first ran out. It was brilliant.”
Man of the Match Will Genia was a decisive player throughout the 80 minutes with the talented Wallabies scrumhalf having a role in both Queensland tries.
However it was the Reds effort without the ball that proved just an influential with their brick wall defence the catalyst behind their comeback from a 10-7 halftime deficit.
“The crowd seemed to be entertained; plenty of noise, and it really was a good ambiance out there. I think both teams did their best to move the ball around, but in the end our defence was very good,” McKenzie said.
“Good old fashioned resilience shone through.”
It was an emotional victory for the Reds, who took the field donning black armbands in memory of replacement backrower Jake Schatz’s mother Allison.
The Reds entered the field to a deafening ovation but it was Crusaders flyhalf Dan Carter that grabbed the early momentum for his team when he slotted a penalty goal in just the third minute.
The Reds worked their way back into the encounter and were rewarded with a perfectly executed play from the lineout which saw Ben Tapuai score under the posts to bring the score to 7-3.
The Crusaders regained the lead heading into the break when a brilliant strip from Carter set Robbie Fruean down the right wing, who put Brent Ward over in the corner.
“It was a bit helter skelter there, especially in the first half, where we probably pushed a little bit too much and tried to play a bit more razzle-dazzle when the basics were working for us,” Reds captain James Horwill said.
Genia continued to snipe around the ruck and was eventually rewarded when he took advantage of a labouring pack at the breakdown and took off for the right touch post and scored. Cooper’s confidence-boosting kick from the sideline secured the perfect second half start for the Reds with a 14-10 lead.
The intensity of the heavyweight affair was taking its toll early in the half, as neither side could find an answer to the opposition’s defence, and fresh legs were required.
The Crusaders continued to pressure the Queensland line and finally converted possession into points with Carter nailing two straightforward penalties on the trot, giving the visitors a 16-14 lead with five minutes remaining.
With the game in the balance, the Crusaders gave away a penalty on their 22m line after being called for hands in the ruck and Cooper, kicking the one that counted, put the ball through the middle of the posts to score the match-winning goal in the last minute.
“I just thought that if we held on to the ball and didn’t make those little handling errors, then I had the belief we could get the points and I know the boys did as well,” Horwill said.
“It’s credit to the guys and they just kept getting up and making tackles.”
McKenzie said his team could take confidence from beating a Crusaders side he still regards as the benchmark of the Super Rugby competition.
“We’re getting to know that we can front up against the Crusaders. They’ve been the benchmark for some time, so we’re getting some confidence in that space,” he said.
“It could’ve gone either way but it went our way, so it’s good to know that we’re competing at that level.”
The Reds will await further scans to assess the severity of an elbow injury sustained by Beau Robinson tomorrow.
The Reds will be aiming to extend their winning streak to 13 games at Suncorp Stadium next Saturday when they play the Brumbies.
Tickets for the match are on sale through www.ticketek.com.au.
Reds 17 (Ben Tapuai, Will Genia tries; Quade Cooper 2 con, pen) def Crusaders 16 (Brent Ward try; Dan Carter 3 pen, con)
Reply With Quote
