Reds co-interim head coach Matt O’Connor has said that some early mistakes by his team made it difficult for the Queensland side against the Crusaders.
The Crusaders extended their unbeaten run against the Reds with a 38-5 victory in Christchurch which moved them to the top of the overall standings.
The Reds The Reds dominated possession for large chunks of the game but ultimately earned little reward in the six-tries-to-one loss.
“We made some mistakes early on, which made it difficult against such a clinical opposition,” said O’Connor.
“They’re an experienced side and that showed in the telling moments tonight.”
O’Connor said that he was pleased with the effort his players put in but concedes that they need to make the most of their opposrtunities when they come along.
“The effort was there, you can’t fault that, but we needed to be better when opportunities presented,” O’Connor said.
For all their scheming and willingness to run the ball, the Reds just lacked the punch to create holes.
A double within the first eight minutes to winger Jone Macilai-Tori was an eerie sign of what might be on the cards.
Try as they did, Queensland’s ball runners failed to put a dent in the Crusaders’ line.
When Scott Barrett crossed for the hosts’ third try, the Reds needed a mighty second half to keep the Crusaders from running away with it.
It wasn’t to be, with Macilai-Tori crossing for his third to put the margin beyond Queensland’s reach.
There was still some fight from the Reds who held the ball for long periods in the second half.
Outside centre Campbell Magnay was the Reds’ sole try scorer when he regathered a Jake McIntyre chip kick and galloped 40m to the tryline.
The Reds’ next outing is on May 14 against the Hurricanes in Wellington.
“We’ve got another tough game next week and we have to be better than we were tonight.”
“The attitude and effort are there – we’ll keep our heads up and we’ll keep going,” O’Connor said.