Former Wallaby Morgan Turinui says the Queensland Reds might be a victim of their own success.
With their second round match against the Force already looming as a must-win, Turinui said the Reds might not have capitalised on their lure after their championship year.
“When the Brumbies or Tahs call you you just say, ‘Yes’,” he said.
“If it’s the Force or the Reds, it’s not the same question.”
“Success makes it easier to recruit and the Reds unfortunately are paying the price for perhaps missing their recruitment after they won in 2011 and having those big dominant persons come out of the team without the ready made replacements having served their apprenticeship."
Turinui said having the incumbent Wallabies halves when they were a standout Super Rugby side may also have been a double-edged sword in the long-term.
“It’s tough as well when their nine and 10 were Genia and Cooper, they’re almost a victim of their success there as well.
“Because if you're a 9 or a 10 (then) you don’t want to go to the Reds because you’re never going to play and you can’t pay a fortune to players who aren’t going to play much.
"It’s that balancing act.”
Turinui said supporters would need to be patient with the Reds’ youngsters, who have shown glimpses but struggle on the back foot in attack.
“In the game you think if you put (Kurtley) Beale in the Reds team would it make much of a difference? Probably not," he said.
“They’re going backwards in attack, they’re under pressure in defence at all times.
"There’s not much a young team, there’s not much a good team, can do in that situation.”
The Reds match with the Force looms as an intriguing one, Turinui said, with the WA franchise committed to an expansive style.
They couldn’t crack an opening win against the Rebels in the first official outing but coach Michael Foley indicated he was pleased with how the side was developing.
“It’s strange that it’s almost counter intuitive because if Foley went to Suncorp with last year’s game plan, they'd probably win,” Turinui said.
“If they went there just to bash them, be smart at the breakdown, play field position I hink they would win.
“If they go there with this new forced expansive game plan there’s a lot more risk and a lot more room for error.
“I Iike that they’re doing it but it is riskier.
“They know that going in but it does mean there's a chance it can backfire, especially early in the season before they really have it in the DNA of their team.
"So it'll be interesting to see what game plan they go there (Brisbane) with.”
