Tens hot, messy and sometimes sublime
The opening day of the inaugural Brisbane Global Tens rugby tournament was marked by upsets, mostly close contests, extreme heat and big come-from-behind victories by the Hurricanes and Samoa.
As temperatures soared beyond 40degC at Suncorp Stadium, the so-called minnows enjoyed early success, with the Rebels upsetting the Chiefs, Japan's Panasonic Wild Knights beating the Waratahs, and the Western Force putting immense pressure on tournament favourites the Hurricanes until a Cory Jane-inspired finish by the Super Rugby champions.
Jane's late intercept try sealed a 17-12 victory after they were quickly down 12-0 against an inspired Force.
The Chiefs bounced back with a 24-14 victory over the Waratahs, the Sydney team badly missing rested Wallabies star Israel Folau. A try from All Black Liam Messam, who had the honour of scoring the first of the tournament, sealed it for the Chiefs.
The tournament, organised by Duco Events and held in conjunction with New Zealand Rugby and their Australian counterparts, featured some sublime passing and heavy tackling, but also a fair amount of early-season rustiness.
Electric fans were set up in front of the team’s benches on the sidelines in an effort to cool the players, all of whom appeared to be suffering under the blazing sun.
It was difficult to tell how many people were in the stadium, with the vast majority seeking shade, but more were apparent later in the day.
The home fans would have been disappointed to see their Reds thrashed 28-0 by the Crusaders last night, former favourite Digby Ioane scoring for the red and blacks with his first touch after 45 seconds.
And the Blues finished their day in disarray when letting slip a 14-0 lead to lose 14-27 to Samoa.
The nadir for them came after Blues forward Hapakuki MoalaLiava'a was sin-binned with the score 17-14 to Samoa and a substitution error meant they had a full complement of 10 players, rather than nine, on the field. The resulting penalty put them 20-14 down and all but out.
In their first match, the Blues should have beaten the Reds, skipper Matt Duffie scoring a late try by the posts to even the score at 17-17, only for the conversion to sail wide.
The Crusaders and Highlanders set the early pace, with the red and blacks beating Samoa 12-7 thanks to tries from All Black Seta Tamanivalu and Jed Brown, and the Highlanders looking good in winning their first match against the Brumbies 14-7.
In their second match, the Crusaders hammered the Reds 28-0, one of the day’s biggest victories. New signing Tamanivalu appears in excellent form.
The Highlanders were the other standout team and their battle against the favoured Hurricanes featured a close finish, but Nehe MilnerSkudder’s try came too late, the southerners winning 13-5.
The tournament finishes today.