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Reds v Highlanders: Reds trio deserve Wallabies call-up, Highlanders rival Crusaders
The Queensland Reds have got their season back on track with an utterly dominant 31-nil win over the Highlanders at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
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For both teams, this match had a bit of a finals feel to it. While there are still almost two months between now and the playoffs, this seemed like an important match for the Reds and Highlanders alike.
Queensland had lost three on the bounce before this clash, while the Highlanders had also been beaten in their last four. With the Super Rugby Pacific season passing its halfway point, the significance speaks for itself.
Match Summary 
1
Penalty Goals
0
4
Tries
0
4
Conversions
0
0
Drop Goals
0
112
Carries
152
6
Line Breaks
2
13
Turnovers Lost
12
8
Turnovers Won
4
The Reds took control with tries to Hunter Paisami and Ryan Smith during the first half, and the second term was more than same as the Highlanders struggled to really fire a shot at the world-famous rugby venue.
Here are some takeaways from the Reds’ bonus point win over the Highlanders.
No McReight + McDermott = No McWorries for Reds
The Stan Sport broadcast panned to some Reds players in the stands during the first half. James O’Connor was there, as was young gun Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, but two men stole the show after being ruled out of this match.
O’Connor, who is still yet to take the field this season due to a hamstring injury, pointed towards Fraser McReight and Tate McDermott as the cameras began to linger. Both men have been ruled out for a series of matches after being sent off last week.
McReight is expected to miss two matches while the blazer-wearing McDermott has been suspended for three. The absence of the Wallabies duo leaves a big hole in this Queensland Reds side.
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Without both men, other players had to stand up against the Highlanders. It has to be said that a talented trio didn’t just do that, they went above and beyond. Ryan Smith, Liam Wright and Hunter Paisami have all proven themselves worthy of an international call-up.
Captain Liam Wright was a menace at the breakdown – having won a penalty during the first half – and was also the primary target at the lineout for hooker Matt Faessler. It was impossible not to notice the flanker’s impact on both sides of the ball.
Wright has played for the Wallabies before, but it’s been a while. With a new coach in Joe Schmidt, now would be the perfect time to reintroduce the Queensland Reds backrower into the test arena. After all, teammates Fraser McReight and Harry Wilson also in the conversation.
Harry Wilson with a cheeky flick 😉#SuperRugbyPacific #REDvHIG pic.twitter.com/eY4JcKzFq2
— Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) April 19, 2024
Then there’s Ryan Smith. Playing in his 50th match for Queensland, Smith won a lineout against the throw early on and later scored a try in the 27th minute. Former Wallaby Morgan Turinui said it best: “He’s been everywhere in this first 28 minutes.”
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Smith has been knocking at the international door all season, but a performance like this is exactly what Joe Schmidt would’ve wanted to see from the lock in the absence of some of the Reds’ best players.
Finally, Hunter Paisami was brilliant. There’s just no other way to look at it. Not only did the centre score a try and win a penalty at the breakdown, but he also got stuck in with some no-nonsense carries and some clever work as a playmaker alongside fly-half Tom Lynagh.
Paisami also registered a try assist by sending Lawson Creighton over for a score inside the final 20 minutes of the fixture, and added another on the siren with a kick across field for Suliasi Vunivalu.
It was the icing on the cake for the Reds.
With no McReight and no McDermott there were no ‘McWorries’ for the Reds on Friday and the trio of Smith, Wright and Paisami deserve credit for that. All three men are there or thereabouts when it comes to an international call-up with the Wallabies.
Highlanders rival Crusaders as a struggling New Zealand outfit
A lot has been said this season about how impressive the undefeated Hurricanes have looked and how the Crusaders’ struggles have shocked pretty well every rugby fan in the world. These storylines have dominated Super Rugby Pacific in 2024.
But then there’s the other New Zealand teams. The high-flying Blues have received plenty of praise themselves as they look to keep close to the Canes on the ladder, and the Chiefs are not too far behind with Damian McKenzie at No. 10.
Then there’s the Highlanders. The Dunedin-based outfit were sensational during pre-season but they’ve so far failed to repeat those heroics on a consistent basis when it counted. They’ve only won two matches from eight starts this season.
The Highlanders’ last win was on March 8 in Sydney. In that fixture, Waratahs fly-half Tane Edmed missed a penalty attempt at goal which would’ve handed the hosts a famous win in front of their home fans at Allianz Stadium.
It’s been a long month and a half for the Highlanders since. They’ve lost five matches on the bounce now, including a 47-12 defeat to the Hurricanes at home last month, and remain inside the bottom four and away from a playoff spot at the moment.
The Highlanders rival the Crusaders as a struggling New Zealand side. Whether one or both are good enough to rally and make an appearance in the finals remains to be seen, but it appears quite unlikely that both teams can charge into the top eight.
Quick hands Hunter 🔥#SuperRugbyPacific #REDvHIG pic.twitter.com/PCCAt6Fblo
— Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) April 19, 2024
Folau Fakatava needs to start for Cam Millar to shine
There’s been a lot of hype surrounding Cam Millar in New Zealand. The young first five has shown plenty of promise throughout the ranks of New Zealand rugby and is considered a long-term prospect to wear the No. 10 jersey in Dunedin.
Millar was handed a start against the Reds but unfortunately failed to fire. Wing Connor Garden-Bachop came closest to scoring with a chip-and-chase but even that seemed like a long shot with a number of Reds players getting back in defence.
The New Zealander is a good player, and the same can be said about his understudy tonight, Ajay Faleafaga. But if either man is to step up and grow at Super Rugby Pacific level then the Highlanders need their best players on the park.
When All Black Folau Fakatava came on, the Highlanders looked a little bit more threatening. Fakatava utilised his experience and unique skillset to steer the visitors around the park as they continued to search for their first points of the contest.
The Highlanders still had an off night and Fakatava doesn’t fix that on his own. But in matches like this which may have big ramifications on playoff spots, every team needs their best players on the field when they’re available.
Comments on RugbyPass
I bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
4 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments