Sully
Six in a row: Reds v. Bulls review: "
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| The Matador corrals the Bulls |
What tougher test could there be to follow an undefeated tour of the Republic than a visit from defending champions the Bulls? They knew they were going to be up against a team with its nose out of joint after being embarrassed by the Crusaders last week. In the replay of last year’s season-defining match, it was all there to play for.
Both teams seemed to have positive intent right from the kick-off, and the low penalty count for both sides reflected the way they wanted to play. However, it was a penalty that led to the opening score: when Rob Simmons was judged offside, Morné Steyn fired for the poles and gave the Bulls the early lead.
The first try of the match came after the Reds had been pressuring the Bulls line for several phases. Quade spotted a gap and threw an inside dummy, gaining the space to slip between the forwards. The dummy worked so well because Rod Davies was running a great support/decoy line and looked for all the world like he was the target. This believable support line was to be a feature of the attacking game plan the Reds were playing.
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| Digby explains the Turtle |
Steyn kicked a penalty next to take the Bulls to within one point. That was as close as there were going to come all night.
Anthony Faingaa was the next to not score a try. After the Reds showed great passing skills, including interplay between Cooper and lock Rob Simmons, to move the ball from one side of the field to the other, a great try-line tackle from Francois Hougaard dislodged the ball and it was lost forward in goal. From the resulting scrum, the Reds ended up with the ball. It made its way to Cooper in the pocket, and he slotted a drop goal.
The second try came eventually when Quade, located at fullback in defence, sparked a counter-attack with a 50-metre run before offloading and getting involved in the next ruck. Mike Harris stepped in as first receiver and spread it wide. Quick passes, including one by Saia Faingaa from his knees, saw the ball in Radike Samo’s massive hands, which safely transported it across the line.
The Bulls struck back from the restart, with Basson collecting the kick-off and running in untouched for a try. There is not much else to say about that; it was simply a case of the Reds buggering up the receipt of the ball (a great Aussie tradition) and Basson’s opportunism did the rest. Steyn’s conversion was the last score of the half, and the Reds took a 17–13 lead into oranges.
The second half scoring was opened by Morahan showing that he had learnt from his earlier effort: when he found himself with the ball and a bit of a gap, courtesy of a perfect wide pass from Cooper, he pinned his ears back and ran straight in to score untouched. Quade’s kicking yips started here as he missed the conversion.
Steyn kicked another penalty next, from a disgraceful call of high tackle against Rod Davies. It was a great chance for a ref to tell a touchie to pull his head in, but he didn’t.
Morahan then ran in for his second (gaining the Reds’ bonus point) after some enthusiastic chasing from replacement Ben Lucas led to Bulls fullback Zane Kirchner being tackled in-goal right under the posts. Form the scrum the Reds ran a move and let the ball do the work before Morahan snuck over in the corner. Again, it was the convincing use of decoy runners who actually look like they are going to be involved (rather than just making the numbers) that opened up the gap.
The next try, or at least the scorer’s celebration, has been the big talking point of the game. The Bulls were hard on attack in the Reds territory before Adam Wallace-Harrison came up with the ball and in true lock fashion, mongrel-punted it down field. Digby Ioane was chasing hard and after toeing it ahead once, scooped it up and planted the ball down. He then pulled out The Turtle… In the press conference after the game he was asked why he chose to do that particular move; he said it was a tribute to Will Genia, because he looks like a turtle.
Showing that they hadn’t lost interest, the Bulls again rumbled down field. This time they were able to sustain the pressure and force a rare defensive lapse from the Reds. Replacement Danie Russouw barged over the top of Kev Horwill to dot down for a try.
Kevvie then got a pie of his own, showing how the pick-and-drive should be done. After a scrum the Reds used patience to advance the ball for a couple of phases before Kev took advantage of some poor defence on the edge of the ruck, scooping up the ball and diving over the line.
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| Wounded Bulls Victor and Frans |
This was a great win for the Reds, built on some fantastic passing from Quade Cooper and enabled by a combination of raw enthusiasm and keenness to chase from the whole team. Their work off the ball contributes massively and it shows in their constant running. They look like they are having a whole lot of fun playing and the energy is channelled nicely.
The win also sets them up nicely for their next match, against their bogey team the Waratahs. This will be a big game for them; with all the talk about the Reds having six straight wins and nine straight at Suncorp, it is important to keep in mind that the last loss in both cases was against the Tahs. Link McKenzie has admitted he’s been looking at the video of that game for a few days already.
Reds 39 (Tries: Cooper, Samo, Morahan (2), Ioane, Horwill Conv: Cooper (3) DGoal: Cooper) def Bulls 30 (Tries: Basson (2), Russouw Conv: Steyn (3) Pens: Steyn (3))
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