Reds hold on against willing Sunwolves
The Round 13 Super Rugby encounter was a match of contrasts – the Reds relying on their set pieces and structured play, while the Sunwolves used their unstructured passing game to cause havoc.
The four tries to three margin is probably a good reflection an the standard and ability to execute by the two sides.
Back row forward Curtis Browning and the Sunwolves' Kiwi import Derek Carpenter bagged two tries each.
It wasn't an overly impressive performance from the Reds, who once again failed to convert their set-piece dominance into flowing attack- despite the late inclusion of Samu Kerevi, who was cleared to play at No.13 after overcoming a broken hand.
The Sunwolves were comparatively much slicker and inventive, and it might have been a different game were it not for their five-eighth Tusi Pisi's inaccurate goal-kicking (landing just four from seven attempts) and two try-saving efforts by Chris Feauai-Sautia in the first half.
The biggest concern for the Reds will be the injury of their Japanese import Ayumu Goromaru, his match abruptly cut short after 63 minutes – as he appeared to injure himself while failing to stop Sunwolves lock Liaki Moli's try, which had dramatically levelled the scores at 25-all.
Instead of tackling the dreadlocked giant, Goromaru tried to bump him out of play and unsurprisingly came off second best, and was immediately brought off the ground clutching his shoulder.
Two minutes later, Cadeyrn Neville galloped 40 metres to the line to finish off a classy Reds turnover play, giving the hosts some much-needed breathing space.
Then Jake McIntyre nailed a 73rd minute penalty to effectively put the game to bed.
The Reds scored two tries to one in the first half but went into the break ahead 17-13, the Sunwolves closing the gap through consecutive penalties from Pisi.
Man of the match: Sunwolves centre Derek Carpenter was a hand-full for the Reds' defence, while flyhalf Tusi Pisi was their most creative force – with Ed Quirk the visitors' muscle. Curtis Browning was the driving force for the Reds' pack. However, pour award goes to Reds centre Sami Kerevi – who passed a late fitness test and his participation was only confirmed half-an-hour before kick-off – with his powerful running causing most of the damage.
The scorers:
For the Reds:
Tries: Browning 2, Slipper, Neville
Cons: Goromaru 3
Pens: Goromaru 2, McIntyre
For the Sunwolves:
Tries: Carpenter 2, Moli
Cons: Pisi 2
Pens: Pisi 2
Teams:
Reds: 15 Ayumu Goromaru, 14 Chris Feauai-Sautia, 13 Sami Kerevi, 12 Anthony Fainga'a, 11 Eto Nabuli, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Nick Frisby, 8 Curtis Browning, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Hendrik Tui, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Cadeyrn Neville, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Andrew Ready, 1 James Slipper (captain).
Replacements: 16 Matt Mafi, 17 Sef Fa'agase, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Ben Matwijow, 20 Michael Gunn, 21 James Tuttle, 22 Duncan Paia'aua, 23 Campbell Magnay/Junior Laloifi.
Sunwolves: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Akihito Yamada, 13 Derek Carpenter, 12 Harumichi Tatekawa (captain), 11 John Stewart, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Atsushi Hiwasa, 8 Ed Quirk, 7 Andrew Durutalo, 6 Liaki Moli, 5 Fa'atiga Lemalu, 4 Tim Bond, 3 Shinnosuke Kakinaga, 2 Takeshi Kizu, 1 Masataka Mikami.
Replacements: 16 Shota Horie, 17 Keita Inagaki, 18 Takuma Asahara, 19 Hitoshi Ono, 20 Taiyo Ando, 21 Yuki Yatomi, 22 Yu Tamura, 23 Mifiposeti Paea.
Referee: Will Houston
Assistant referees: Andrew Lees, Nic Berry
TMO: Damien Mitchelmore
