We need this one, Reds
It’s time to shut the Kiwis up after Aussie teams’ 34 straight losses
RUGBY UNION: James Slipper thinks Super Rugby’s trans-Tasman gulf is closing, but a stark 0-34 ledger will only cease to be a complete embarrassment if the Reds end the rot tonight.
The Queenslanders are 12-point underdogs against the Chiefs but there is a whiff the home side can pull off an overdue upset at Suncorp Stadium.
The Reds need it, any tired Aussie with a crowing Kiwi mate needs it and Australian rugby desperately needs it to turn the tide.
As a veteran of 102 games, captain Slipper was in the squad when the Reds beat the Chiefs four times between 2010-13, including three times in hostile Hamilton.
How have the five Kiwi sides leapt so far ahead they could win all 26 games played against Aussie rivals last year and 34 in a row since mid-2016?
“It’s a good question and I’m sure if we knew the answer earlier we would have rectified it,” Slipper said.
“There’s a bit of a gap between the Aussie and Kiwi teams, but I believe we are clawing it back with hard work.”
When pressed, Slipper said he thought the Kiwis had built the gap through “staying up with trends in play, (superior) skill execution and how they have been coached”.
“It’s always down to the basics that the Kiwis do well and we are working on ... catch pass, tackling, set piece, running hard and winning collisions,” he said.
Slipper is upbeat about the statement the Reds can make tonight.
“Hard, physical and controlling the ball is where it starts for us and we are excited to see where this challenge leads us,” he said.
The Reds will need to produce their best to muzzle All Black Damian McKenzie, the quicksilver dynamo who leads the competition for line-break assists (13) and has splintered 41 tackles with his running.
Tonight is the first chance for former All Black Brad Thorn to apply his inside knowledge of the Kiwi game to stress the Chiefs as a coach.
He’ll attack the Chiefs’ prop problems with a hammering scrum and demand a better contest at every kick-off, lineout, breakdown, kick-chase and scramble for the ball.