Nock on! Halfback the hero
Blues deliver late try to break hearts up in Queensland
An 82nd-minute try from Blues halfback Sam Nock handed the Queensland Reds a heart-breaking Super Rugby Pacific loss at Suncorp Stadium.
The Reds looked on track for the biggest win of their season after a stunning hat-trick from 20-year-old winger Tim Ryan on his starting debut put them 31-20 clear on Saturday night.
But the powerful Blues found an answer, scoring three tries in the last 13 minutes — including one deep into additional time — to sink their rivals 41-34.
Nock was backing up perfectly to find the winning points after winger Caleb Clarke initially broke the line, countering a Reds drive where they looked intent on finding the winning points.
It was the Blues’ sixth straight win to sit one point behind the ladderleading Hurricanes.
“They executed pretty well and unfortunately we just weren’t good enough to take it at the end, but maybe a call here and there or a better kick here or there maybe changes it,” Reds coach Les Kiss said.
“But we’re not going to go into what-ifs about this, we’re just going to build on the positives.”
The visitors had only tied the scores on 75 minutes through bench hooker Kurt Eklund, with dynamic No 8 Hoskins Sotutu sparking their late rally six minutes earlier.
Alarm bells were ringing early when the Blues powered over twice in the first 19 minutes, with only three missed kicks at goal from fiveeighth Harry Plummer keeping the score at 10-0.
But Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu credited the way the Reds surged back into the contest.
“We respect the Reds and how quick they came back in the second half, they scored some pretty crucial tries,” he told Stan Sport.
“We were on the back foot and they really put the pressure on us.
“For us it was about focusing on the next job, trying to get a good kick, pushing that ruck and trying to get the ball back.
“But there were quite a few times the Reds caught us in that area and got us going backwards.”
The late drama overshadowed a breakout game from Junior Wallaby
Ryan, with his pure speed creating his second and third tries.
He classily capped a scrum setplay for a 24-20 lead, before carving up defender after defender from a standing start to complete his hattrick and put them 31-20 clear.
He had earlier grabbed their first
lead of the contest after an audacious chip-and-chase from centre Hunter Paisami allowed him to be put away.
Winger Suliasi Vunivalu’s secondhalf try made up for a lazy put-down that cost him the match’s opening points.
He did the hard part, climbing high to gather a bomb above his Blues opponent before using his strength to spin and find the line, only to botch the easy try despite no pressure from defenders.
Earlier, the Hurricanes’ unbeaten start in Super Rugby Pacific ended when they lost 27-19 to the Brumbies.
A week after losing 46-7 to the second-place Blues, the Brumbies pulled off one of the upsets of the season in beating the first-place Hurricanes.
The Brumbies have dominated the Hurricanes in Canberra, with the New Zealand side having lost their last six matches in the Australian capital. The Hurricanes last won in Canberra in 2017.
Two tries in the middle of the first half allowed the Brumbies to build a 21-5 lead after 19 minutes which became 24-5 after a penalty to first five Noah Lolesio.
The Hurricanes cut the lead to 24-12 at halftime and and outscored the Brumbies 7-3 in a tight second half but never held the lead.
In Dunedin, halfback Folau Fakatava scored the only try in the 47th minute as the Highlanders beat the Western Force 7-6 in an errorstrewn match.
Force first five Ben Donaldson kicked a penalty in the 38th minute for the only points of the first half. Fakatava’s try put the Highlanders ahead and they held on as the only other points of the match came from a second Donaldson penalty.
In Saturday’s first game, winger Taniela Rakuro scored two tries as the Fijian Drua held on to beat Moana Pasifika 24-17 in Lautoka, Fiji after leading 17-0 at halftime.
The Drua remain unbeaten in Lautoka this season.
The home team book-ended the first half with tries to Rakuro after two minutes and Selestino Ravutaumada in the 36th minute.
Moana Pasifika got on the board with a try to Henry Taefu but Rakuro’s second try in the 69th minute extended the Drua’s lead. They were able to hang on, though Moana Pasifika finished strongly with tries to Sione Havili-Talitui and Sama Malolo.
Friday’s matches saw a moraleboosting 39-0 home win for the Crusaders over the Rebels from Melbourne, while the Chiefs travelled to Sydney and beat the Waratahs, 38-22, to sit in fourth.