Thorn’s inspirational words which turned Reds into believers
THEY’RE the sage words from a footy legend that helped the Reds find the belief to break their decadelong title drought and put rugby back on the map in Queensland.
“Win the moments and trust your mate to do his job.”
Reds coach Brad Thorn’s halftime reminder to his rattled men helped turn around his side’s fortunes and seal his place in Queensland rugby folklore.
Trailing 13-6 at halftime against the ACT Brumbies after playing some of their most error-riddled rugby of the season, the Reds mounted a stirring second-half fightback, with comeback king James O’Connor scoring a try almost five minutes after regulation time ended to seal a 19-16 victory and the Super Rugby AU title.
The Reds had won both rounds games against the Brumbies but each time the game came down to the wire and Thorn’s reminder helped his men stay in the game until they broke Brumbies hearts.
“It was about playing each moment,” Thorn said.
“You can look at the game two ways – it’s an 80-minute game you want to win, or you can look at it as all these moments and that’s how I look at the game.
“Win those moments and focus on our discipline and physicality … and trust your mate.”
Eventually, the Brumbies broke. Plenty will point at the decisions of referee Nick Berry to hand out three yellow cards to the visitors – two of them in the final five minutes to leave the match a 15-on-13 contest in the dying stages.
But Thorn and his men believed they would find a way to finish off no matter what, just as they had done all season.
The victory was the Reds’ 11th in a row at Suncorp Stadium and Thorn said the 41,637 fans at Suncorp Stadium helped carry them home.