Western Force prop Tom Robertson could see the funny side of getting more love for his long-range try than his 100th game after his spectacular effort against the Queensland Reds.
Robertson lit up Suncorp Stadium and social media when the prop raced 40 metres to score a try, showing remarkable pace and agility.
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“I had my 100th game of Super Rugby a few weekends ago and a few people messaged me but then I scored a try from 40 out in the weekend and everyone comes out of the woodworks, which is unreal," he told reporters.
“It's funny, people love seeing a prop score a try from a long distance for some reason, but everyone found it hilarious, which is great.”
It evoked memories of Greg Holmes against Ireland in 2006 and Matt Dunning's famous intercepts, with Robertson even surprising himself with his pace after recovering from an ACL injury last season.
“It was probably the longest I've run in a long time, in a direct sprint, so it took me about five minutes to get my breath back," he admits.
“I got the offload from Nick (Champion de Crespigny) and then I was just wondering where the fullback was the whole time, eventually they got to me, but it was a bit too late.
“Luckily, there'd been an absolute pouring down of rain the last couple of days in Suncorp, so I managed to slide over the line, which is great.”
Unfortunately for the prop, the Force couldn't close out the win, going down by four points to the Reds.
It happened in identical fashion to their Round Three: a late try from a back crossing after a maul to give the Reds a 28-24 win.
Robertson and the Force were eager to brush off the loss as they prepare for the Highlanders on Saturday, needing a win to stay in the top six.
“Those two games really hurt, and I think everyone in the change rooms afterwards was pretty disappointed with how the result went," he added.
“ I thought we threw a few punches when we got out there and we did what we said we were going to do in the game plan. You’ve got to be happy with that and that's professional sport sometimes, the bounce of the ball, the result doesn't just go your way.
“We've got to brush that aside and get ready for this weekend, because it's, you know, a massive test against a really good team.
