In the second Super Rugby match on Friday in Round 14 the action moves to Brisbane Queensland where the Reds host the Western Force.
There are just three points separating the Reds on 16 and the Force on 13 points in the Australian Conference.
The Brumbies have 23 points so, in theory, the Force are still in the running for the playoffs. Both sides, however, have 3 wins from 11.
Match detail
We are waiting for the kick-off.
1.00: BEEP! BEEP! Brendon Pickerill gets us underway in Australia. The Force have not won in four against fellow Aussie opposition, but they have been improving after some impressive results.
3.00: The force is going through the phases, looking for an early score. They go 10 phases before turning over the ball. The Reds clear. Good work from Hendrik Tui.
4.00: The Force are penalised for not rolling away. Quade Cooper kicks to touch, inside the visitor’s 22.
5.00: TRY Duncan Paia’aua! The Reds go wide from short distance. Cooper double-pumps and sends the ball wide to Paia’aua to score in the corner. Great start for the home team.
6.00: MISS! Cooper can’t add the conversion from near the sideline.
8.00: Scott Higginbotham is involved in some off-the-ball with most of the Force’s pack. The Enforcer strikes again.
10.00: Cooper has started on fire; he’s pump faking, throwing dummies, sending long skip passes and putting in some deft kicks. He has come to play.
12.00: The Reds pass forward, going wide, and the Force survives and will have the scrum on the midway. The Force wins the penalty and Peter Grant kicks deep.
13.00: The Reds win a penalty at the lineout and Copper clears to halfway. It’s a bit slow going at the moment.
17.00: NO TRY! The referee goes to the booth to see if Nick Frisby has scored. Peter Grant looks to have held him up with an impressive cover-saving tackle. Frisby must not have seen Grant because he could have dived in for the score.
18.00: BIG HIT! Chris Kuridrani cuts down Marcel Brache with a massive tackle. It was an advantage to the Force, so they will get the scrum back on halfway.
20.00: We are into the second quarter of this tight game. This makes it four times in their past four matches that the Force have been scoreless after 20 minutes.
22.00: Jermaine Ainsley tackles Sam Talakai off the ball on the side of the ruck. Stephen Moore, on his 175th Super Rugby cap, opts for touch.
24.00: Samu Kerevi knocks on after taking a big hit. The Force kick, but don’t find touch. Cooper gets the ball on the quick-throw and starts a counter-attack, which breaks down.
27.00: The Force wins a penalty and will take a shot at goal.
28.00: PENALTY! Peter Grant puts his team on the board.
30.00: TRY, NO TRY? Quade Cooper. We are going to the TMO for a knock-on. It’s Curtis Rona’s strip-tackle that makes the ball go forward. Cooper toes the loose ball and dives on it over the goal-line. It’s been overturned for off-sides by the standoff. No try, but was the ruck formed or not?
32.00: The Force nearly get over for a try. Karmichael Hunt is penalised for a high tackle on Francois van Wyk.
33.00: PENALTY! Grant, from the sideline, puts his team ahead with his second penalty.
37.00: The visitors are putting the Reds under huge pressure, camped on their try line.
38.00: TRY Ross Haylett-Petty! After sustained pressure from the Force, the flanker picks up, at the base of the ruck and dives over.
39.00: Grant slots the touchline conversion and the Force lead by eight.
The half-time score was Reds 5 Force 13
41.00: BEEP! BEEP! We are back underway in Queensland.
42.00: TRY Lukhan Tui! Nick Frisby picks up Peter Grant’s kick. The scrumhalf runs a straight line through the Force defence, passes to Quade Cooper, who gets out of two tackles and throws a lovely inside ball to the lock to score.
43.00: Cooper converts from out wide.
44.00: PENALTY TRY! Michael Ruru dives over the ruck to score but loses the ball forward. However, the referee consults the TMO for an infringement.
44.00: YELLOW CARD! Nick Frisby is off for 10 minutes.
48.00: The Force is awarded another penalty, it’s in a kickable position so Peter Grant calls for the tee.
49.00: PENALTY! Grant won’t miss from there, he’s 4/4 and the Perth team open up an 11-point gap.
51.00: TRY Stephen Moore! It’s his fourth try in four consecutive games for the Wallaby hooker and his 24th in Super Rugby. Cooper kicked a penalty touch-finder to the Force’s 5. The Reds set up a driving maul and power over to reduce the deficit.
52.00: Cooper adds the extras.
55.00: The benches are being emptied. Cooper finds another good touch-finder, deep inside the Western Force’s 22. The Reds survived the Frisby yellow card.
57.00: Cooper’s kicking has been excellent; he finds another touch-finder 5 metres out.
58.00: TRY Stephen Moore! It’s a double for the hooker. The Reds set up another driving maul, it nearly halts, but the forwards wheel to the left and Moore crashes over.
59.00: Cooper adds another conversion and the home team are leading by three.
61.00: A massive scuffle breaks out between Moore and Adam Coleman. Nothing in it really.
62.00: TRY Marcel Brache! This is a wonderful backline move between Peter Grant, Billy Meakes, Curtis Rona and the fullback.
63.00: Peter Grant adds his second conversion and fifth kick from five as the Force retake the lead in the final quarter.
66.00: YELLOW CARD! Eto Nabuli tackles Grant high and late: Very reckless.
69.00: The Force win another penalty, near the touchline for a high tackle. Grant kicks to the corner. It is a four-point ball game, so a shot at goal is seven. They want to put the game out of reach.
70.00: TRY Tatafu Polota-Nau! Adam Coleman collects the lineout and the Force set up a drive. They are halted initially, but the keep their composure and patience, drive twice more before the substitute crashes over.
71.00: The conversion is good from Grant.
74.00: PENALTY! Peter Grant kicks his seventh kick and fourth penalty to see the Force home.
77.00: The Force is holding out for the win by slowing the game down and keeping possession.
80.00: The hooter sounds and that is the ball game.
Full-time
The final score after 80 minutes is Reds 26 (5) Force 40 (13)
Scorers
Reds
Tries – Paia’aua, Tui, Moore (2)
Pen –
Con – Cooper (3)
Drop –
Cards – Frisby (Yellow, 44th minute), Nabuli (Yellow, 66th minute)
Force
Tries – Haylett-Petty, Penalty try, Brache, Polota-Nau
Pen – Grant (4)
Con – Grant (3)
Drop –
Cards –
Match Officials
Referee: Brendon Pickerill
Assistant Ref 1: Rohan Hoffmann
Assistant Ref 2: Jordam Way
TMO: Damien Mitchelmore
Teams
Reds
15 Karmichael Hunt, 14 Chris Kuridrani, 13 Samu Kerevi (captain), 12 Duncan Paia’aua, 11 Eto Nabuli, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Nick Frisby, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 George Smith, 6 Hendrik Tui, 5 Lukhan Tui, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Sef Fa’agase.
Replacements: 16 Alex Mafi, 17 Kirwan Sanday, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Izack Rodda, 20 Adam Korczyk, 21 James Tuttle, 22 Jake McIntyre, 23 Lachlan Maranta.
Western Force
15 Marcel Brache, 14 James Verity-Amm, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Bill Meakes, 11 Alex Newsome, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Michael Ruru, 8 Isireli Naisarani, 7 Matt Hodgson (captain), 6 Ross Haylett-Petty, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Matt Philip, 3 Jermaine Ainsley, 2 Heath Tessmann, 1 Francois van Wyk.
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Tetera Faulkner, 19 Richie Arnold, 20 Richard Hardwick, 21 Mitchell Short, 22 Luke Burton, 23 Luke Morahan.
