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The Reds reaction to win over Ardie Savea's Moana Pasifika
By AAP
Queensland head coach Les Kiss has praised his players’ grit after the Reds made an emphatic start to their Super Rugby Pacific campaign with a 20-point win over Moana Pasifika.
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The star-studded Reds resisted a spirited fightback from Moana to record a runaway eight-tries-to-five victory on Friday night in Brisbane.
Kiss was delighted with the 56-36 win, saying the work done on their pre-season tour of the United Kingdom had paid off.
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“The cohesion we gained on the tour and the way the coaches built the game plans were two really big plusses that came out,” Kiss said.
“We’ve added some extra layers to our game. We don’t just play one way and we had to show that against Moana Pasifika.
“To stand strong and not crumble with that sort of pressure on our tryline was excellent as was our start to the second half.”
With 13 Wallabies in the Reds’ match-night 23, the hosts led 21-0 after 12 minutes.
The early dominance didn’t deter Pasifika, who pulled to within seven points of the lead midway through the second half with the Reds having three players yellow-carded.
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But quickfire tries to locks Angus Blyth and Ryan Smith in the space of three minutes turned a precarious six-point buffer into a commanding 42-22 advantage for the home side.
Blyth Tryscorer Angus Blyth helped thwart a Moana Pasifika comeback. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)
There was no coming back for Moana as the Reds registered a season-opening win even without sidelined ex-Wallabies captain Liam Wright.
“Look, when you’ve got a man down, you’ve got to simplify things,” Reds co-captain Tate McDermott said.
“Discipline is key. Man on feet is key and the boys did an excellent job with that.”
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Revelling in the wet conditions, the Reds bolted out of the blocks with three tries in the opening 11 minutes through Wright’s fill-in, tough-nut No.8 Seru Uru, and prolific wingers Filipo Daugunu and Tim Ryan.
Ryan’s try was the so-called Junkyard Dog’s 10th in 10 appearances for the Reds, surely keeping the 21-year-old in the eye of Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt.
The Pacific Islanders reduced the half-time deficit courtesy of a try to inspirational captain Ardie Savea and a penalty goal to fullback William Havili.
But moments after being injected into the fray, first-choice Wallabies hooker Matt Faesler came off the bench for the Reds to blow the game open.
Faesler peeled off the back of a driving maul to score in the 43rd minute and swing the momentum back the Reds’ way.
Despite the sides trading six more five-pointers, the result was never in doubt.
Moana Pasifika captain Ardie Savea was generous in his assessment of the Reds.
“The Reds defence and grit was testament to them,” he said.
The Reds hope they will only become better when Wright finally returns after more than six months on the sidelines with a shoulder injury – one match into the flanker’s Wallabies captaincy.
“I’m hoping to get some minutes next week,” Wright told Stan Sport. “It’s been a tough journey.”
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