Reds clinch Aussie crown, home playoff
Source: Agencies |
July 15, 2012, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SUPER Rugby champions Queensland Reds grasped an unlikely opportunity to retain the Australian conference title with a bonus-point 32-16 victory over the New South Wales Waratahs in Brisbane yesterday.
After the ACT Brumbies had been upset 16-30 by the Auckland Blues in Canberra, the Reds needed to score four tries and win to secure third place in the final standings and a playoff fixture back at their Lang Park home this weekend.
They duly delivered in an entertaining match against their oldest rivals with Scott Higginbotham, Liam Gill, James Slipper and Dom Shipperley grabbing the key scores before Will Genia added a flourish with a fifth try.
"We spoke all week about trusting the process rather than focusing on the result," skipper Genia said in a televised interview. "Things fell our way, I guess, but we worked hard all week for that result."
The result meant the Brumbies join the Wellington Hurricanes in hoping the Bulls or Sharks slip up in their final matches against the Lions and Cheetahs, respectively, in South Africa later.
Wallaby and Reds flyhalf Quade Cooper is in doubt for the playoffs after he was cited and sinbinned for a second-half high tackle which forced a dazed Berrick Barnes off the field.
It was the Reds' seventh consecutive victory and their first bonus-point win over the Waratahs since 2003.
The Reds, with a season-high crowd of 41,533 in Brisbane, secured a bonus point when winger Dom Shipperley scored their fourth try in the 51st minute for a 24-11 lead.
In Christchurch, New Zealand, the Canterbury Crusaders smashed Australia's Western Force in the first half before claiming a bonus-point 38-24 victory to secure fourth place in the final standings.
The seven-time champions ran in tries through Israel Dagg, Sean Maitland, Andy Ellis and Matt Todd before the break to ensure a playoff back at Rugby League Park this weekend.
After the ACT Brumbies had been upset 16-30 by the Auckland Blues in Canberra, the Reds needed to score four tries and win to secure third place in the final standings and a playoff fixture back at their Lang Park home this weekend.
They duly delivered in an entertaining match against their oldest rivals with Scott Higginbotham, Liam Gill, James Slipper and Dom Shipperley grabbing the key scores before Will Genia added a flourish with a fifth try.
"We spoke all week about trusting the process rather than focusing on the result," skipper Genia said in a televised interview. "Things fell our way, I guess, but we worked hard all week for that result."
The result meant the Brumbies join the Wellington Hurricanes in hoping the Bulls or Sharks slip up in their final matches against the Lions and Cheetahs, respectively, in South Africa later.
Wallaby and Reds flyhalf Quade Cooper is in doubt for the playoffs after he was cited and sinbinned for a second-half high tackle which forced a dazed Berrick Barnes off the field.
It was the Reds' seventh consecutive victory and their first bonus-point win over the Waratahs since 2003.
The Reds, with a season-high crowd of 41,533 in Brisbane, secured a bonus point when winger Dom Shipperley scored their fourth try in the 51st minute for a 24-11 lead.
In Christchurch, New Zealand, the Canterbury Crusaders smashed Australia's Western Force in the first half before claiming a bonus-point 38-24 victory to secure fourth place in the final standings.
The seven-time champions ran in tries through Israel Dagg, Sean Maitland, Andy Ellis and Matt Todd before the break to ensure a playoff back at Rugby League Park this weekend.
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