There was nothing pretty to this one with sweaty and rainy conditions undermining the ball handling of both sides. The Queensland Reds won the grind and produced some excellent defence along the way at Suncorp Stadium.
The 23-5 win over the Melbourne Rebels is in the books to launch Super Rugby Pacific.
So what did we learn?
1 HARRY WILSON 2022
All eyes were on the big Reds No.8 to see what changes might be evident after he was left out of the Wallabies tour late last year to work on his game.
He certainly looked fitter. He’s definitely stronger in the gym, he’s working on sharper footwork at the line and he’s still got those great Wilson rugby instincts he’s always had.
Take his try in the 49th minute. He had to rope in a short, high ball before charging ahead. His sharp thinking gave him the idea he could Inspector Gadget one arm towards the tryline after being tackled.
It was a key try and great dexterity in the tricky wet conditions. It’s also credit to him just minutes early getting some of that spray grip on his hands to enhance his handling.
Earlier, he produced a try-saving tackle on his line.
A good choice as man-of-the-match.
His red headgear will be a neon sign for all referees to get out of his running lane because he accidentally skittled poor Angus Gardner late in the game.
2 TOUGH START FOR CARTER GORDON
It was an unhappy night for young Rebels flyhalf Carter Gordon. He spilt a pass behind his tryline just 20 seconds into the game.
He hoofed a kick out on the full. They were difficult conditions and he’ll certainly played much better in the weeks ahead.
It was contagious because fullback Reece Hodge dropped several balls and banged a kick out on the full.
3 THE JOCK CAMPBELL CONUNDRUM
The Reds fullback is one of the most underrated backs in the country.
No back on either side showed the sharp footwork in tight spaces to shake off tacklers like he did.
He banged a 40m touch finder when needed too.
On full-time he showed a cool head to wait for the clever Josh Flook kick to reach him. He gathered it and put a quick step on the final Rebels defender to score a try.
The Wallabies seem to have no interest but the Reds love him.
4 FOR TONGA
How perfectly scripted was it for Reds prop Taniela Tupou to crash over for the opening try. He was doing his bit to raise money for his Tongan homeland after January’s devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami.
Rugby Australia, New Zealand Rugby, Stan Sport, Nine and Sky (NZ) have teamed up to donate $500 per try for the first 10 rounds to the Red Cross Pacific Tsunami appeal.
READ MORE:
WINNING: Tahs break drought
FIVE THINGS: Bell shines as defence stands up
MILESTONE: Muirhead reflects on 50
5 100 FOR JAMES O’CONNOR
O’Connor had a relatively quiet night but he had two key touches in the lead-up to the excellent Wilson try. He took the pass on his bootlaces that started it all and threw the final inside pass to Wilson.
Post-match, there was plenty of time to savour a win and how far he has come to reach 100 Super Rugby games since his debut at 17 for the Western Force.
