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Video: Toomua levelled by Wallabies centre as Reds pinch win

Matt Toomua (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Matt Toomua has missed a shot at goal with the last kick of the game that would have pinched Melbourne Rebels an upset win over the Queensland Reds in a penalty-laden Super Rugby AU clash.

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The Rebels accumulated points steadily through Toomua and Reece Hodge and led from the opening minute in a game that featured 32 penalties.

But two second-half tries to Queensland hooker Alex Mafi salvaged a 23-21 win for the Reds, who watched in glee as Toomua’s last-gasp penalty shot sailed left of the uprights at Suncorp Stadium on Friday evening.

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      RugbyPass Offload Episode 18 – Nigel Owens, Zeebo and Ryan on Red Cards, Career Highlights, Regrets and Viral hit‪s‬

      The loss was a brutal one for the Rebels, who only flew into Brisbane on Friday morning and have been housed in Canberra after making a last-minute dash out of Melbourne to avoid a lockdown that would have meant they were unable to enter Queensland at all.

      The Reds’ win was their eighth straight victory at home and came despite a red card to prop Feao Fotuaika, who was judged to have caught the head of an opponent in an innocuous tackle with 23 minutes to play.

      The game’s final penalty also drew the ire of the crowd, with Hunter Paisami appearing to wrap the ball and upper torso of Frank Lomani.

      But referee Jordan Way was leaving little room for error in a stop-start game which Toomua controlled for all but the final minutes.

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      He kicked the game’s opening points after just 60 seconds and slotted three more penalties to ensure the rebels led 12-6 at half time.

      The Reds, who piled on five tries in a slick win over the Waratahs last week, persevered with their running game and were finally rewarded when Mafi burrowed over in a rolling maul.

      He fumbled what would have been a match-levelling try but then barged over in the 76th minute off a scrum, before O’Connor put his side in front for the first time.

      NRL recruit Suliasi Vunivalu’s debut came with 16 minutes to go for the Reds and he almost made an instant impact.

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      The former Melbourne Storm winger chased a kick and almost got a hand on it before Joe Powell’ s boot narrowly beat him to it.

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      IkeaBoy 50 minutes ago
      Competing interests and rotated squads: What the 'player welfare summer' is really telling us

      Very, very thoughtful piece!


      It’s far too much rugby for players as it stands and the new competitions - club world cup and Nations cup - are proposed on the basis it’s the best players competing who will usually be established test players.


      An established NH test player is in pre-season from August (at the latest) then going thorough until the following July. They likely will have carried niggles and some injuries into their pre-season. They would then have between 22-30 domestic games if their teams went far and contested finals in say the URC and CC. Although many would have stand down periods, they would still train and be squad ready for all of those games.


      Their test commitments across that same time would be 3/4 games (Nov series) then 5 games (6 Nations) with a rest for the July development tours. That rest would only now be once every 4 years with the Lions, Nations Cup and RWC warm-ups occupying the July window.


      A squad player at club level would potentially have a full run of games in any given season but run a greater risk of injury the more often they play. They would likely know that form alone wouldn’t get them to the next level and into a national squad. It would be their bodies and their ability to recover quickly and deal with elite level competition. They wouldn’t have the baseline of having played an 11 month season so how could they upsurge a 40 cap player?


      I think there will be a huge divide before long between solid club players, who are basically salary men, and the ringfenced test animals who will likely dwindle in numbers as their playing demands increase.

      13 Go to comments
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      LONG READ Competing interests and rotated squads: What the 'player welfare summer' is really telling us Competing interests and rotated squads: What the 'player welfare summer' is really telling us