Disciplined Force keep Reds winless, Parker kicks Highlanders to narrow victory
Jono Lance and Luke Morahan came back to haunt their old team as the disciplined Western Force kept the Queensland Reds winless in Super Rugby in Brisbane yesterday.
Fly-half Lance kicked five penalty goals from as many attempts and laid on the kick for winger Morahan to score the only try as the Force frustrated the Reds 22-6 in the battle of the two struggling Australian provinces.
Japanese star Ayumu Goromaru, starting at fullback for the first time in Super Rugby, kicked his team’s only points with two penalties, but missed two other attempts at vital stages in a scrappy encounter with few thrills.
Lance linked up with the Perthbased side via the New South Wales Waratahs this season and was the difference as Western Force nullified any Queensland attack with stout defence and kept their opponents pinned inside their own half with tactical kicking.
The Force led 9-3 at half-time and Lance continued to pile the pressure on the Reds with two more penalty goals as Goromaru was astray with one attempt and struck an upright with another shot.
The only try of a forgettable encounter came in the final minute when Lance cleverly angled a grubber kick towards the right-hand corner for Morahan to swoop on to the ball and score.
The dismal loss will only build more pressure on under-fire Reds coach Richard Graham after the Reds only won four games last season and look headed for another meagre season based on their opening two losses.
“I think our defence won it tonight,” Force skipper Matt Hodgson said.
“Not only as a forward pack, but as a whole unit. I think we offered them nothing in attack and we were lucky to score a try at the end. We played for a full 80 minutes which was exciting.”
The Reds have now won only three of their last nine encounters with the Force.
HIGHLANDERS 17 HURRICANES 16
Hayden Parker was the toast of Otago yesterday when he came off the bench to kick a late penalty and give the defending champion Highlanders a 17-16 victory over the Hurricanes in Dunedin.
In a repeat of last year’s Super grand final, the Highlanders again came out on top, but this time the result was in doubt until Parker’s pressure kick four minutes from time.
Both sides were first round losers last week and the Wellington Hurricanes in particular needed a good comeback after their 70-point drubbing at the hands of the ACT Brumbies in Canberra.
Midway through the second half they looked to be on track to prove they were better than that when they fought back from 6-14 down to lead 16-14.
Then, they withstood a torrid attack from the Highlanders when Malakai Fekitoa, Liam Squire and Aaron Smith were denied try-scoring opportunities.
But as the clock ticked down, the Highlanders won a penalty about 30 metres from the posts and Parker produced the match-winning kick.
LIONS 36 CHIEFS 32
The Golden Lions went two from two on the boot of Elton Jantjies when they withstood a late Waikato Chiefs rally to win a nail biter in Hamilton yesterday 36-32.
In the closing two minutes the Chiefs twice won penalties on the Lions line but were unable to convert them into points.
Being four points in arrears they were forced to go for line-out drives but they could not break the welldrilled Lions pack.
The Lions led for most of the game, apart from a brief period at the start of the match and in the middle of the second half as they made light of their arduous travel itinerary.
They are the first team in the expanded competition to head from South Africa to Japan where they beat newcomers the Sunwolves 26-13 last week before travelling south to New Zealand.