The Reds held on to record their third win of the season, but what did we learn?
Goromania soured
It was hyped up all week that Ayumu Goromaru would be reunited with his Japanese Rugby World Cup teammates at Suncorp Stadium. Goromaru impressed with the boot kicking 5/6 but his afternoon was prematurely ended when he went off with a shoulder injury in the 56th minute. Karmichael Hunt will be back from a groin injury following the June International break and depending on how serious Goromaru¹s injury is, we may have seen the last of him in the Red jersey.
Kerevi¹s speedy return
Samu Kerevi broke his hand just two weeks ago and it was supposed to be a race against time for a potential Wallabies call-up but after a speedy recovery, the centre was rushed back into the starting side for the Reds. Continuing where he left off, Kerevi dominated with ball in possession racking up a game-high 134 run metres from his 11 carries. See you gold next month, Samu!
Quirk returns
Ed Quirk was the lone Aussie to join Super Rugby¹s newest franchise in 2016 and on Saturday was reunited with his former teammates for the first time. Quirk played five seasons for the Reds before moving to Japan in 2016 and caused havoc at the breakdown all afternoon, finishing with a team-high 10 tackles and a turnover.
Browning brilliance
Given the opportunity he¹s been waiting for in recent weeks after Jake Schatz went down with an injury, Browning has thrived in his new starting role for the Reds. A schoolboy prodigy who has taken time to develop at the professional level, Browning scored two tries in one his best matches in the Red jersey.
Set piece
We¹ve known of the Reds struggles in the last few seasons but the one part of their game that has continued to develop is their set piece. From the opening minute the Reds dominated the Sunwolves scrum despite being 13kg lighter. The experienced heads of Greg Holmes and James Slipper accompanied by the determination of youngster Andrew Ready, has allowed the set piece to continue to grow.
