Reds back three taking fresh shape

Tue, Mar 13, 2018, 12:15 AM
It was showtime in round four of the Super Rugby. Take a look back at five of the best tries of the week.

The Reds back three may not look like the trio most envisioned prior to the start of the season but for now, there's something about it that just works.

With Karmichael Hunt still awaiting the results of a Rugby Australia integrity unit investigation and Izaia Perese sidelined until at least early April through a knee injury, the spark from the back of the attack has been left in the hands of Aidan Toua, Filipo Daugunu and Eto Nabuli.

Toua was brilliant in the Reds' win over the Bulls - soaring high above the ground to claim towering bombs from the boot of Handre Pollard, taking the playmaking load off Jono Lance by slotting into the backline and making the most of his left boot with some astute kicking.

But rather than focusing on his own game, Toua, speaking from Buenos Aires, pointed to the prospect of his wingers as the most exciting part of the Reds' 2-1 start to the season.Aidan Toua has slotted straight into the Reds fold. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart Walmsley"I've got two pretty exciting guys on the wings in Eto and Filipo, who are both relatively new to rugby," Toua said.

"Just keeping an open line of communication with them and making sure they're doing their jobs for the team and leading our back three is a big role for me.

"I'm just trying to get the ball in their hands as much as they can."

Daugunu made an early defensive blunder in his first start which gifted the Bulls a try but outside of that, he looks a particularly promising prospect.

He isn't the heaviest set winger at a playing weight of 91kg but with ball in hand he racked up 59 metres from his eight runs, which also included a pair of line breaks and three tackle busts.

It was the vision to set up Toua's try which caught the eye, though, as the flying Fijian stopped on a dime, split the Bulls line from 60 out before finding Brandon Paenga-Amosa, an airborne Toua catching the final pass and scoring as a reward for his run in support.Filipo Daugunu looks a promising prospect for the Reds. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart Walmsley"It's taken some time to build some combinations with the guys but we are progressing really well week to week and we're getting better," Toua said.

"We get glimpses of it in the game but the more time they spend out, the more ball they get, they'll be able to showcase their talent over the next few weeks."

Attention for Toua and the Reds now turns to the Jaguares before they fly to Cape Town to take on the Stormers - the toughest road trip in Super Rugby.

Rather than dwell on the difficulty the travel presents, Toua said the team will take it in their stride.

"That's the general theme of the team this year," he said.

"Whatever obstacles we come across we enjoy it and we embrace the tough road, as Thorny likes to say."

The Reds face the Jaguares in Buenos Aires on Sunday morning, kicking off at 8:40am AEDT, broadcast LIVE on FOX SPORTS.

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