Reds head coach Nick Stiles says that he was pleased with the his Super Rugby team gave an improved performance but that they are not happy with a “courageous loss.”
The Reds were beaten 15-34 by Super Rugby champions the Hurricanes but were in match until the final quarter during which the visiting side scored two late tries.
“We knew the Hurricanes would fly up in defence so we wanted our forwards to carry hard and tight, to get us over that advantage line and I thought we executed that really well. We stuck to our structures and we started to build some continuity,” he said.
“In that second half, there was a period where we played some really exciting football but probably threw a few too many offloads and turned the ball over which killed us.
“Last year we probably lose by 70 points, I reckon easily, but I want to be really clear – I’m not into courageous losses.
“The team we’re trying to build here and the culture we’re building is definitely not happy with a courageous loss. We’re here to win football games.”
