Reds bounce back to beat Waratahs

The Reds and Waratahs met in Brisbane for another match-up in the on-going rivalry between Queensland and NSW. The Reds secured their first win of the season after defeating the visitors 25-17 in a tightly contested affair.

While the Waratahs scored the opening 3 points, Reds captain Rob Simmon’s 50^th Super Rugby cap was highlighted by his team’s strong performance.

Some great hands by the backs and forwards put Reds winger Dom Shipperly in some space, and he took full advantage by crashing over to score.

Ben Tapuai added another 5-pointer as he plucked away a Waratahs offload and raced away to score an intercept try.

Early in the second half, league-convert Israel Folau found himself over the tryline following an awkward bouncing ball was picked up by Foley and delivered to Folau.

Folau was in the public eye ahead of his first game, but while the big fullback bagged a try, he never managed to impress much, as some bad handling and poor decision-making let him down.

Young Ben Volavola also managed to make an immediate impact, and came off the bench to cut through the defence and race away over the Reds’ tryline.

Tapuai then grabbed a second try after a great break from flanker Eddie Quirk, who overloaded to give Tapuai the chance to get under the posts.

Harris’ kicking was solid in both his penalties and try conversions, always giving the Reds a little bit of breathing room ahead of the ‘Tahs.

Rugby Informer’s player of the match: Ben Tapuai – the Reds vice-captain impressed in defence and attack, and read every situation well with his 2-tries as fair reward.

Scorers:

Reds:
Tries: Shipperley, Tapuai 2
Cons: Harris 2
Pens: Harris 2

Waratahs:
Tries: Folau, Volavola
Cons: Foley 2
Pen: McKibbin