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Reds end Chiefs' dream run

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:35

Match winner: Reds flyhalf Quade Cooper

The Reds ended the Chiefs' dream run with a stunning 23-18 win in their Super 14 Round Four match at the Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, on Friday.

What a match! Take off every hat you have and raise it to the Reds. It was a victory for one of the great displays of guts and spirit in the history of Super rugby.

They have been largely ignored after some years of poor performances and when they smashed the Crusaders it was seen by some more as a Crusader aberration than a Reds achievement. But there is no gainsaying this achievement. It was immense

The Reds had lost Peter Hynes, James Horwill, Digby Ioane and Rod Davies, four top players. There was a general belief that they lacked depth. The Chiefs had been reinforced the week before by Lelia Masaga and this week by the great Mils Muliaina. The Chiefs were unbeaten and brimming with confidence and bravado. The Reds had lost two out of three - to the Waratahs and the Blues. The odds, it seemed, were well and truly against them.

They seemed all the more against them when they were 15-0 down. But then they did not look back They could not win line-outs - and then won the most important one of the match, five metres from their line with the Chiefs to throw in.

But they won the tackling. They tackled better and they were better after the tackle against a Chiefs side which believed that few was better than more. They also handled better - generally though not perfectly, for they tended to keep the ball close. The Chiefs as they became increasingly rattled made some gross handling errors, passing into touch several times. Then there were the penalties. The Chiefs were more penalised than the Reds but it was one penalty under the Reds' posts less than a metre from their line which was vital.

And then there was the crucial goalkicking. Stephen Donald, one of the best goal-kickers, missed three conversion and then one right in front when the Reds were inching their way back and the score was 18-13. On the other hand Quade Cooper missed just one.

The Chiefs also had the numerical advantage for 10 minutes when  and then when they had a player sin-binned and had to battle on with 14 men when Brando Va'aulu was sin-binned for a tip tackle. While he was absent, the Reds won 6-3!

This was a massively spirited performance. They started badly and their attitude seemed largely apologetic but it grew as they realised there were things they could do better than the Chiefs and as their enthusiasm grew so the Chiefs confidence dissipated.

The Chiefs first try acme from the first line-out of the game. Brendon Leonard broke and the ball went left to Sitiveni Sivivatu who cut inside, ran over Cooper and Will Genia and powered over in Daniel Braid's tackle for a try. 5-0 after two minutes.

The Chiefs were having a wonderful time, easily getting the ball to those wonderful wings. And so it was Masaga's turn next. Teenager Luke Morahan, playing fullback for the Reds, kicked a long way downfield but the Chiefs, as is their wont. counterattacked down the left with Muliaina prominent. They were close to the line on the left when Hika Elliot was grassed. The ball went wide to the right when Masaga picked up a long, bouncing pass and arced over in the corner. Masaga dances when he scored. This was his last dance in this match.

When Donald broke straight ahead, the Chiefs went on the attack and bashed at the Reds' line till prop Sona Taumalolo bashed through Sona Taumalolo to score the third try. 15-0 after 21 minutes. The bonus points looked as if they would soon arrive but the Chiefs scored only three more points in the next hour.

The Reds fought their way back into contention. They were better in the scrum, though ironically they were the ones penalised when yet again Ben Daley gave Nathan White a hard time. But it was their contesting at the tackle, with Daniel Braid in the van, that brought them back into the game. More and more they dominated territory and possession till in the second half the Chiefs got hardly any ball. and they got a try.

They got an attacking line-out off a penalty and for a change got the ball; back. They bashed at the Chiefs line and then went wide. Quade Cooper must have the softest hands in rugby and his ability to get the ball away under stern pressure is astonishing. As they went left Cooper hung a little pass in the air. From his right wing, close to Cooper Will Chamber ran onto the ball and raced through untouched to the posts. 15-7. The fightback had begun.

Genia and Scott Higginbotham got the Reds onto the attack but then the Chiefs won a turnover off Cooper and the Chiefs were chasing a long and difficult kick into the Reds' land.

Va'aulu was penalised and sin-binned for his dangerous tackle and this time Donald goaled, his only success of the balmy night. 18-7 after 31 minutes. But then Taumalolo and Elliot were penalised at a tackle to make the score 18-10 and shortly afterwards Taumalolo was again penalised at a tackle. 18-13, which was the half-time score.

The second half was one of Reds domination and eventual success. They were close when Cooper dabbed a kick for the left corner and the ball just beat Va'aulu, and then Callum Brice and Tanerau Latimer were penalised at a tackle. 18-16 with 24 minutes to play.  There would be only one try in that time, but it was the winner.

The Chiefs were attacking there was confusion between Muliaina and Donald and the ball spat forward where Daniel Braid picked it up and hoofed it far downfield with Latimer and Masaga were going back to it. by from the left Morahan came racing. He left sauntering Masaga behind and beat Latimer to the ball. He flykicked ahead and then scooped up the ball to score at the posts as Latimer tackled him. Cooper converted. 23-18 to the Reds with 17 minutes to play.

In those thrilling 17 minutes, both sides had chances to score but the defences on both sides had an adamantine determination born of desperation.

First it was the Chiefs who attacked down the right. Masaga beat two and passed inside to powerful Aled de Malmanche who powered towards the line. They bashed till Taumalolo knocked on for a scrum six metres from the Reds' line. The Reds won the scrum and gave to Anthony Faingaa who ran there ball up bit lost it in the tackle of Luke Braid who had a flying start off the scrum. That gave the Chiefs a five-metre scrum and they bashed and bashed with De Malmanche close till Liam Messam hung on ands was penalised. That was one of the decisive moments in the match.

Morahan chased a clever kick by Genia. Muliaina run the ball out and the Reds had an attacking line-out. They bashed the ball through 16 phases and then went wide to their right, but Chambers was turned in a tackle and [penalised for holding on. The Chiefs won that one.

Turinui burst away from tacklers an looked on the way to scoring. Again the defence was tested as the Reds bashed through 16 phases. Then again they went wide to the right but Morgan Turinui's pass was  not a good one and Chambers  failed to hold on. There were six minutes to play.

The Reds won a turnover at a tackle but the ball was untidy and Leroy Houston was penalised for holding on. Donald kicked  out for an attacking line-out with a handful of seconds to play. That was the vital one the Reds won and Genia kicked into touch to end the match. It was more a case of the Chiefs losing the line-out because they overthrew the ball and, caught by surprise when the ball come to him, Luke Braid knocked on. The Reds took advantage and kicked the ball dead.

An obviously disappointed Chiefs captain Mils Muliaina used words such as "shocking" and "disgraceful" to described his team's performance - considering that they were looking to shut the Reds out inside the first quarter.

Man of the Match: There were many heroic and skilled Reds with Will Genia and Scott Higginbotham outstanding but the man who may just have done most for the victory is our Man of the Match, Daniel Braid for his leadership, determined tackling, effort at the tackle and that kick that made the winning try.

The scorers:

For the Chiefs:
Tries:  Sivivatu, Masaga, Taumalolo
Pen: Donald

For the Reds:
Tries: Chambers, Morahan
Con: Cooper 2
Pens: Cooper 3

Yellow card: Brando Va'aulu (Reds, 32 - foul play, spear tackle)

Teams:

Chiefs: 15 Mils Muliaina (captain), 14 Lelia Masaga, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Callum Bruce, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Colin Bourke, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Culum Retallick, 4 Romana Graham, 3 Nathan White, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Sona Taumalolo.
Replacements: 16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 Toby Smith, 18 Jarrad Hoeata, 19 Luke Braid, 20 Junior Poluleuligaga, 21 Mike Delany, 22 Dwayne Sweeney.

Reds: 15 Luke Morahan, 14 Will Chambers, 13 Morgan Turinui, 12 Anthony Faingaa, 11 Brando Va'aulu, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia (captain), 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Daniel Braid, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Van Humphries, 4 Adam Byrnes, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements: 16 Sean Hardman, 17 Greg Holmes, 18 Robert Simmons, 19 Jake Schatz, 20 Ben Lucas, 21 Ben Tapuai, 22 Blair Connor

Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Garratt Williamson (New Zealand), Shane McDermott (New Zealand)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

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