1
Why ex-Wallaby believes Reds’ painful loss to Blues can be a ‘good’ thing
By Finn Morton
The Reds may have been beaten by the Blues 41-34 in a Trans-Tasman thriller on Saturday evening but that defeat could be the catalyst for future success according to former Wallaby Stephen Hoiles.
ADVERTISEMENT
Queensland had snapped a disappointing three-match losing streak just eight days earlier by thrashing the Highlanders 31-nil in Brisbane. In round 10, they looked to do the same against the Blues at the very same venue.
Playing against the Aucklanders at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on the ANZAC Day Weekend, the Reds showed plenty of fight and probably should’ve won the match but it wasn’t to be in the end.
The Reds were leading by 11 points with 15 minutes to play, but two late tries saw the Blues snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with Sam Nock crossing for a runaway match-winner in the 82nd minute.
While the Blues are riding high in second with an 8-1 record, Queensland occupy sixth place and still appear to be well on track for a spot in the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs in about six weeks.
“I reckon it’s going to be good for the Reds, to be honest,” Stephen Hoiles said on Stan Sports’ Between Two Posts.
“I think no matter where they play, if they get a home final or don’t, a game like this will be able to give them confidence that they can go anywhere and play good style footy and scare some teams and get a win.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I’m jumping ahead but sometimes you lose a game like that… I think what Les Kiss can be like, you can take a hep of positives out of that game.
“There’s no point sitting there going, ‘you didn’t do this, you didn’t do that.’ They did a lot of good stuff and I think that’ll help them in four to six weeks.”
Former Junior Wallabies winger Tim Ryan stole the show with a blistering hat-trick within a 15 minute span. If you’re a rugby fan, chances are you’ve seen Ryan’s third try replayed over and over.
Ryan, just 20 years of age, leapt about two metres to his right before stepping inside two Blues defenders, including All Black Mark Tele’a, on a sensational break up the field.
ADVERTISEMENT
Once the rising star dove for the in goal and completed the score, the Brisbane venue went berserk. Queensland were on the cusp of an incredible upset and an unlikely home-grown hero led the way.
But the Reds have failed to close out fight games before this season, and this was another case. Coach Les Kiss was understandably “filthy” at full-time after his team conceded 14 points in eight minutes.
“I had a quick chat to him after the game and he was just filthy they couldn’t close it out,” former Wallaby and Stan Sport commentator Morgan Turinui added.
“Obviously lost in golden point to the Hurricanes already once this year, he feels like they’ve left a few out there.
“But I said to him, ‘surely you now know you can beat anyone in the competition?’ Like there’s that level to it.
“Especially if they get one at home. If they can sneak into the top four that sets them up but they beat the Chiefs in Hamilton last year… they know they can go away (and win).”
