Reds survive send-off and binning to beat Tahs
THE Queensland Reds overcame the dismissal of prop Dane Zander and the sinbinning of co-captain Tate McDermott to retain the Bob Templeton Cup with a 32-20 defeat of the NSW Waratahs at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
Down to 13 men for 10 minutes either side of halftime, the Reds survived before stamping their authority on the contest with three tries in the space of 15 second-half minutes.
However, Queensland’s hopes of a bonus-point win were dashed in the dying stages when Waratahs replacement player Tom Horton crashed over.
But in sometimes difficult conditions due to a heavy downpour, the Reds will be satisfied with their fifth win from six Super Rugby Pacific matches this season.
For the weakened Waratahs, it was their third loss of the campaign, with two of those defeats having come against the Reds.
Despite his sin-binning for a deliberate knockdown late in the first half, Reds halfback McDermott was impressive in his return from an ankle injury that sidelined him for three matches.
Powerful Reds prop Taniela
Tupou – who was successful midweek in overturning a twogame ban for alleged foul play in Queensland’s 16-12 loss to the first-placed Brumbies – was also a standout during his 66 minutes on the field.
Despite the Reds’ overall dominance, it was the Waratahs who grabbed a shock early lead, defying the wet conditions to score out wide in the ninth minute through young halfback Jack Grant, who continued to deputise for the injured Jake Gordon.
Queensland’s pressure finally paid off in the 27th minute when McDermott beat four Waratahs on a darting run to score.