The Queensland Reds have continued their post-season tour, with each the boys’s and girls’s sides choosing up robust wins over Tongan’s nationwide sides in torrid situations in Nuku’alofa. Nonetheless, it might have come at a price.
James O’Connor, recent off a hamstring damage and placing collectively some good kind following the Reds conflict with Wales, was well-targeted by the Tongan defence, with a number of large hits coming his means.
After a 40-minute efficiency, he didn’t take the sector because the Reds got here out for the second half, with the commentators revealing he had failed a head damage evaluation and wouldn’t play the rest of the match.
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Regardless of the lack of the veteran flyhalf, the Reds ran away with the match within the second half, choking the Tongans down in their very own half by means of self-discipline and superior execution as situations worsened, to expire 41-14 winners.
Les Kiss will probably be pleased with the efficiency with a number of gamers, with Jock Campbell excelling with the captain’s armband, and moving into kicking duties with O’Connor sidelined.
Junior Wallaby prop Massimo De Lutiis made a powerful first impression in Queensland colors, the Junkyard Canine Tim Ryan picked up a strive for his efforts in an improved efficiency at exterior centre, whereas Wallaby Feleti Kaitu’u earned his maiden cap off the bench.
The match was capped off with a attempt to Seru Uru, who led from the entrance within the ahead pack.
Regardless of the loss, there have been loads of high quality performances for the house facet as effectively, with 40 per cent of their squad all being gamers who play in native Tongan competitions.
In the meantime, the Reds Womens’ facet ended a 28-year drought towards worldwide opposition of their conflict towards Tonga Girls, with Wallaroos veteran Lori Cramer and flanker Carola Kreis co-captaining the facet, and main the Reds to a 65-0 win over the hosts.
After an in depth first half that noticed the Reds solely forward by 15 factors, the worldwide and Tremendous W expertise confirmed within the second half for the guests, with Wallaroo Ivania Wong celebrating her thirtieth Queensland cap with a number of standout moments and a strive for her efforts to ship a message to Jo Yapp forward of their WXV2 marketing campaign.
Centre Mel Wilks additionally picked two tries for her effort, whereas Wallaroo prop Eva Karpani additionally impressed.
Kreis additionally picked up a hattrick for her efforts, whereas debutants Tess Littleton and Mercedez Taulelei-Siala completed the match in type for the guests with a number of dazzling longe vary tries within the closing phases of the match.
Regardless of the outcomes and torrid situations, it proved a profitable afternoon as many followers turned out to look at the match, with plans reportedly underway to attempt to make this fixture an annual incidence.
