‘Rocket’ Rod Davies was amongst the tryscorers as Reds A beat Fiji Warriors

Reds Media Release –

Queensland Reds A secured a hard-fought 22-19 win over the Fiji Warriors in their second game of the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup at Ballymore today.

The Reds outscored the Fijians four tries to three, and solid defence in the first half saw the Queenslanders keep the visitors scoreless at halftime, 5-nil.

Reds A coach Peter Wilkins was happy with the performance and believed the team delivered a much more structured performance than in their opening round loss to Force A.

“We’re really pleased to get the win, that was important for us as a team,” Wilkins said.

“The team had to win the game from a difficult position, which shows a lot of character and ability within the squad.

“Structurally, our forwards were better. We asked for more width and depth from them, and we had really good direction and leadership from Ben Lucas at flyhalf.

“Defence was a big focus leading into the game and in the second half especially, we were able to pressure the Fijians across the field and prevent them from making effective offloads,” he added.

The first 40 minutes were dominated by Reds A, with the Queensland side playing the game in the Fijian’s half, holding the majority of possession.

Reds new recruit Jamie-Jerry Taulagi was industrious in his first few touches and scored the opening try of the match in just the fourth minute.

The conversion attempt from inside centre Sam Johnson was unsuccessful, leaving the score at 5-nil.

Reds A were solid in defence throughout the first half, which made it difficult for the visitor’s strong backline to gain territory.

The Warriors set the stage for an exciting second half, with flyhalf Waisea Luveniyal scoring a runaway try in the first minute. He converted his own try to put the Fiji Warriors in front 7-5.

This lead was short-lived, as Reds A winger Rod Davies used his characteristic speed to run over 50 metres to score in the corner, leaving the Reds ahead 10-7 after the conversion attempt was unsuccessful.

The Warriors regained their lead thanks to a try from Nemani Nagusa which brought the score to 12-10.

Reds A missed the chance to edge in front after a missed penalty attempt from Lucas, but a break soon after from number eight Tim Buchanan brought the game back into Reds A’s favour, 15-12.

Nigel Ah-Wong further extended the home side’s lead, scoring a try in the corner to take the score to 20-12.

Sam Greene took over the goal kicking duties after coming off the bench and nailed the conversion from close to the side line, leaving Reds A ahead 22-12 with just over 15 minutes left on the clock.

The Warriors responded with a try five minutes later to leave the game close at 22-19, but the Reds A defence held strong in the final stanza, securing them the win over the visitors.

Wilkins was impressed with a number of his players today including young fullback Taulagi, who was energetic with every touch of the ball.

“It was great for Jamie-Jerry to get the game time today and he certainly did a lot of good things for us,” Wilkins said.

“I thought Michael Gunn at openside flanker went well today and he is improving with every game, this competition has been great for his development.

“Chris Kuridrani had a great game. He was physical in contact and punched a lot of holes in the Fijian defence.”

Reds A will now face Junior Japan in a curtain raiser to the Asteron Life Super Rugby clash between the St.George Queensland Reds and the Cheetahs next Friday, 7 March at Suncorp Stadium. The Reds A match is at 4:20pm, followed by Reds v Cheetahs at 7:40pm.

“It’s great for us to have a short turn around to keep the momentum going and the team are really keen to play at Suncorp and face a different challenge in Junior Japan,” Wilkins added.

Reds A 22 (Jamie-Jerry Taulagi, Rod Davies, Tim Buchanan, Nigel Ah-Wong tries; Sam Greene con) defeated Fiji Warriors 19 (Waisea Luveniyal, Nemani Nagusa, Savenaca Nawaca tries; Waisea Luveniyal 2 cons)