The Queensland Reds have signed off their Super Rugby AUS season in style, producing a disciplined, attacking masterclass to shock the Western Force at Tompkins Park in Perth, winning 47-22.
The Reds controlled affairs for most of the match, with a four-try blitz over ten minutes stunning the home side, forcing them to play catch-up rugby.
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While the teams would go try for try in the second half, the Reds capitalised on the Force’s ill-discipline and troubles with the windy conditions to keep them at bay.
While making no difference in the context of finals calculations, the result will give the Force a much-needed wake-up call and plenty to ponder.
They will be set to face a red-hot NSW Waratahs side fresh off a victory in Canberra, who finished with the same number of points as the Reds but qualify through points aggregate and a favourable head-to-head record with the Queensland side.
The Force had a favourable Fremantle Doctor wind in the first half, but it was the Reds who threatened early on, as Xavier Rubens asked questions of Henry Palmer on the left wing.
The hosts turned to their general play and physicality, which proved effective, with the side making inroads into Reds territory and eventually opening up for Max Burey to score out wide in the 11th minute.
Donaldson would miss the conversion, and would continue to struggle with the wind, with a 22-to-22 kick undone by Reds pressure, leading to the visitors counterattacking well.
The Reds would get on the board in the 19th minute through several strong attacking phases, with Vaiuta Latu the benefactor of a disciplined buildup.
From that moment, the visitor's attack went into overdrive.
Four tries in ten minutes left the hosts shellshocked, with Xavier Rubens scoring two strong long-range efforts, while Jeffrey Toomaga-Allen was the benefactor of a linebreak combination from a firing Harry McLaughlin-Phillips and Kalani Thomas to score.
Unlike his Force counterpart, McLaughlin-Phillips was having no such troubles off the boot, mastering the wind well as the Reds opened up a 28-5 lead.
The Force desperately needed to score, and finally did so with Mac Grealy combining to put away Henry Palmer for the Force’s second, but Donaldson’s conversion troubles continued, the hosts down by 18 at halftime.
The Reds went back to their disciplined set piece for the second half, taking advantage of some poor Force discipline and several consecutive penalties to threaten the hosts’ line early in the second half - with Latu finally breaking through to score his second in the 48th minute.
After Max Burey left the field clutching his wrist, the Force needed their stars to stand up, and four minutes later their Super Rugby contingent did so, with Isaak Fines-Leleiwasa and Ben Donaldson putting George Poolman away to cut the margin to three converted tries.
However, the Reds responded well three minutes later, taking advantage of their scrum dominance to fling the ball wide, with Will Cartwright bumping off Fines-Leleiwasa to score the Reds’ sixth try of the afternoon.
The Force would strike back six minutes later in a seesawing second half, as Donaldson cut the Reds' defensive line to shreds to score the Force’s fourth of the day, but the hosts were running out of time to spring a win.
The Reds would put the result beyond doubt with just under 15 minutes to go, with James Martens scoring off the back of a strong rolling maul and disciplined play to get to the Force’s 5m line.
Off the back of this try, referee Graham Cooper finally lost patience with the hosts, sending Titi Nofoagatatoa to the bin for repeated infringements.
The Force would try to salvage something in the final ten minutes, with tempers starting to flare and handling breaking down from both sides.
However, the Reds scrum would prove too effective at stifling momentum, with no more points scored when the full-time whistle was blown.
The Reds will turn to their one-off fixture against the Panasonic Wild Knights in Toowoomba on October 18th, while the Force will lick their wounds and prepare for the grand final next week.
Force 22 (Tries: Burey, Palmer, Poolman, Donaldson. Cons: Donaldson 1 / 4. Cards: Nofoagatatoa - Yellow) def by Reds 47 (Tries: Latu 2, Rubens 2, Toomaga-Allen, Cartwright, Martens. Cons: McLaughlin-Phillips 6/7)
