Reds wanted it more
Reds prop Greg Holmes celebrated his milestone 100th game for Queensland in style, with the Reds producing a thrilling 32-17 bonus-point victory over the Sharks in Brisbane on Friday.
Holmes became just the 26th player to join Queensland's illustrious 100 caps club in a match where the Reds returned to their attacking best to have a four-try bonus point locked up after just 34 minutes.
Tries to Anthony and Saia Faingaa and a double to wing Rod Davies gave the home side a commanding 29-3 lead at half-time, while flyhalf Quade Cooper produced a stellar performance to add 12 points with the boot.
The victory was the Reds first over the Sharks since 2009 and means Queensland have now beaten every Super Rugby team possible during the Ewen McKenzie era.
It was also a crucial result in the context of the Reds campaign with the five competition points invaluable ahead of a tough two-game tour to South Africa, where they will play the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein and Stormers in Cape Town.
"We just wanted to beat the Sharks," McKenzie said.
"That's what we concentrated on as there was a bit of unfinished business there for us," the coach added.
"We hadn't been able to get on top of them over the past three years but now we have in our fourth.
"Before the game we spoke about playing better, as we haven't felt like we've played our best yet.
"We've had some good bits and pieces, but we've never felt like we've been complete.
"Now, we've got a nice block coming up with some more South African sides and some things we've been investing in at training will carry through.
"It will be interesting in the next couple of weeks but it's good to get on the plane with a five-point haul.
"The win was very important for us."
Playmakers Will Genia and Cooper were at their dynamic best during the Reds first-half try-scoring blitz with Genia praising the side for producing one of their finer performances of the season.
"We're very pleased about the first 40 minutes," Genia said.
"We spoke about starting well – having a lot of energy, enthusiasm and a lot of intent in how we wanted to play," Genia added.
"It was also about being creative and expressing ourselves a little bit more. We have a lot of tricks that we can pull out and we're really pleased that we backed ourselves to play the way we wanted to play.
"Our breakdown work was very efficient and that creates fast ball, and when you're going forward and you're efficient at the breakdown, it's easier for the forwards to get around the corner and create good shape."
McKenzie also congratulated Holmes on his milestone 100th game.
"Greg has had a good season and he is in the game all the time," McKenzie said.
"The scrum went forward, he made his tackles and we left him out there. He has earned the right to be out there. He got to run out first and he came off last with his cap.
"We talked about that prior to the game, his circumstance and the things he has done for Queensland."
