The Queensland Reds have a full backline on the sidelines and sorely need destructive Wallabies star Digby Ioane to hit the ground running in his long-awaited Super Rugby return from suspension.
Ioane’s return from a five-week dangerous tackle ban next weekend couldn’t be more timely after the luckless Reds lost two more backs and veteran lock Van Humphries to serious injuries in their 23-13 loss to the Stormers on Friday night.
Rookie five-eighth Sam Lane is set to undergo his second knee reconstruction in a year while centre Ben Tapuai faces 10 weeks on the sidelines due to a broken collarbone that will rule him out of the Wallabies’ June Tests.
The pair were injured in a nightmare opening seven minutes at Suncorp Stadium as the competition-leading Stormers pounced to race up an early 10-0 lead.
It takes Queensland’s number of sidelined backs to seven, headed by sorely-missed playmaker Quade Cooper, as they battle to keep their title defence alive.
Regarded as the game’s most dangerous winger, 21-Test Ioane is a near certainty to make his comeback at outside centre as Tapuai’s injury came just three days after another midfielder, Aidan Toua, strained his hamstring in training.
After four losses in their past five matches, Queensland will need him at his best as they face a desperate Blues outfit in Auckland on Friday night before meeting the Crusaders and Chiefs in a season-defining three-match block against Kiwi opponents.
There’s some hope Wallabies centre Anthony Faingaa may overcome a lingering foot problem to give coach Ewen McKenzie some backline selection options at Eden Park.
“We’ve lost two and we get one (Ioane) back,” McKenzie said.
“We’ve still got a deficit of one and we’ll have to go looking again.
“That’s the nature of the season so far for us.
“(Ioane) will be good; he’s full of enthusiasm and … he’ll touch the ball often for us but he’s been out for five weeks as well.”
With just two backs on the bench against the Stormers, reserve halfback Nick Frisby played wing for 70 minutes as the Reds mounted a spirited comeback but contributed to their demise by botching three try-scoring chances and missing three penalty attempts.
“In the end the scoreboard didn’t reflect it but I thought we competed well,” said McKenzie, who felt his team would win at 17-10 down with 15 minutes left.
“They’re one of the most physical teams in the competition and I thought we got stuck into them and forced them into a lot of errors.
“We did pretty well but we just weren’t polished enough to score points.”
In some welcome good news, stand-out skipper James Horwill was cleared of a shoulder problem but Humphries will be sidelined after losing strength in his arm.
