Super XV Big Match Review - Reds 19 - 19 Brumbies

One of the favourite methods of selecting a squad for an upcoming tour or series is to have a "Probables v Possibles" game to see who's deserving of a spot in the team, as made famous by various All Blacks training camps over the years.  This has lots of benefits – firstly, it gives a lot of dark horses the chance to shine in a game played by internationals and secondly, the players are so pumped up that they smash the stuffing out of each other, causing injuries and thus removing some of those pesky selection headaches that all coaches secretly loathe.

But Robbie Deans needn't worry about that for the upcoming Lions series – he's had the Brumbies v Reds games to do it for him.  On one hand, you have the Queenslanders, a side full of blokes who have been there and done it – established Wallabies like Will Genia, Quade Cooper, James Horwill and Digby Ione – whilst on the other you have the Brumbies, a youthful outfit playing without fear – with youngsters like Christian Lealiifano, Ben Mowen, Jesse Mogg and Henry Speight all staking claims this year.  It was the perfect match up for Deans in many ways, and it wasn't too different for the neutral, with both sides at their best when playing free-flowing, fast, attacking rugby.  There was little doubt, even before kick off, that this one was going to fizzle – especially with the home crowd at Suncorp in full voice.

But despite the Reds having all the initial intent, it was the Brumbies who took an early advantage in the game with two penalties in the opening 10 minutes from Christian Lealiifano, who was to have a superb game in his continued push for international recognition against the Lions.  But whilst it was the fleet footed and intelligent Lealiifano making waves for the visitors, it was a thumping, brutal lineout drive from the Reds pack (plus the 2 centres) that got them on the board,  with number 8 Jake Schatz touching down to give the Reds a 1 point lead, following Cooper's conversion, after a quarter of an hour.  They thought they had another when Rod Davies went inches from scoring following a significant charge from fellow winger Digby Ione, but instead it was the ACT outfit who grabbed the next 5 pointer.

The fantastic Jesse Mogg injected some serious pace into a stalling Brumbies attack to make the initial inroads into the Reds defence, before the ball went right to Lealiifano, who dummied past Ione to score near the corner – and he followed it up with a dead-eyed conversion too.  As the hosts fought to regain the lead, it became increasingly clear that they had adopted an 'attack at all costs mentality', repeatedly passing up easy shots at goal for attacks on the Brumbies line.  This was, I assume, an attempted statement, but unfortunately the only message that came across to those watching was that the Reds were about as accurate as a Michael Fish weather prediction, with James Horwill and Will Genia – two of the most experienced heads in the Queensland side – opting for tap and goes that led to nothing as opposed to taking the penalty points on offer.  Even when Lealiifano continued his eventful evening by being sent to the sin bin, the Reds couldn't find a way past an aggressive, passionate and organised Brumbies defence and, although Nic White missed a couple of pots at goal to extend the visitors' lead, they went in 13 – 7 up at the break.

All the pressure the Reds were exerting was being absorbed by a bruising Brumbies defence, but cracks were beginning to show at the start of the 2nd half.  Firstly, Anthony Faingaa was tackled into touch inches short of the line following a sweeping, length-of-the-field move, before Rod Davies eventually breached the resistance following a long pass from Cooper to score in the corner, with the fly half missing the conversion.  The Reds were within one, but the Brumbies were in no mood to surrender – instead they clawed their way into a 7 point advantage through two more penalties from Lealiifano's flawless boot.  The Reds were getting frantic and yet were still ignoring kicks at goal in favour of quick taps or kicks to the corner, and for a while it looked like it might cost them.  Time and time again they surged at the visitors' try line, and time and time again they were thwarted – with a Will Genia pass going astray and Ben Daley being held up over the line.  But the relentless waves of Red finally broke down the blue and white wall, with Scott Sio being sent to the sin bin and Liam Gill wriggling over from short range.  Gill, along with his opposite number, George Smith, had been a standout player for the Reds and the final result was to echo that of his personal battle with Smith – evens.  With Cooper's conversion, the game was tied at 19-19, and that's how it remained.

A draw may have been frustrating for the players, but the skill levels, commitment and ability on show was utterly sublime for the neutral – and a fair few furthered or reignited their claims to a green and gold Jersey, with the likes of Horwill, Mowen, Gill, Smith, Cooper and Lealiifano all impressing.  There may have been no winners as far as the two sides were concerned, but I should imagine a fair few Wallabies in June may look back at this one and note it down as being a little personal victory.

What else was occurring across the Super Rugby world last weekend?

Waratahs 25 – 20 Chiefs:  The Waratahs turned in their best performance of the season as they turned over reigning Champions the Chiefs in Sydney.  The Tahs scored tries through debutant Cam Crawford, Israel Folau and a late effort from John Ulugia, with the Chiefs responding with scores from Gareth Anscombe and Ben Tameifuna.

Hurricanes 22 – 16 Force:  The Canes held on for a scrappy win in Wellington against a stubborn Force side.  The hosts had Jeff Allen, Brad Shields and Tusi Pisi to thank for their scores whilst the visitors' only try came from Kiwi Alby Mathewson.

Kings 0 – 34 Bulls:  The Kings produced comfortably their worst performance of the season as they suffered the humiliation of being 'nilled' at home by the struggling Bulls.  The visitors were rampant, with Jan Serfontein, Jano Vermaak, Jaques Potgieter and Akona Ndungane all crossing the Kings' try line.

Sharks 6 – 12 Cheetahs:  The Sharks' bad dip in form continues as they were turned over in yet another tryless display.  The hosts could only muster points from the boot of Pat Lambie whilst the in-form Cheetahs got over the line twice via Raymond Rhule and Wille Le Roux.

Crusaders 24 – 8 Highlanders:  The Crusaders condemned the Highlanders to yet another defeat despite the visitors showing plenty of ambition and resilience in defence.  The home side ended up winning comfortably with efforts from Robbie Fruean and Tom Taylor, with young centre Jason Emery grabbing his first Super Rugby try for the visitors.