Wallabies halfback Will Genia returned to his signature best as the Queensland Reds breathed new life into their Super Rugby title defence with a maiden Eden Park win on Friday night.
The reigning champions scored their most important win of the season by ending a six-week rut with a crucial 23-11 victory over the last-placed Blues in slippery Auckland conditions.
With matches against the Crusaders and pace-setting Chiefs to follow, a fifth loss in six matches would have been dire for the Reds as the Brumbies and NSW lead the Australian conference.
But Genia, battling for form this year following a tiring 2011, led the way as the visitors scored three tries to one to taste their first Super success at Eden Park.
“It’s a hard place to win; I’d only done it three times in all my time as a player and coach,” said proud Reds coach Ewen McKenzie.
Rising flanker Liam Gill was also a Reds standout, saving the day a number of times with excellent defence and a string of breakdown pilfers.
With Wallabies duo Digby Ioane and Anthony Faingaa back from suspension and injury, and the world-class Genia on song, the Queensland backline looked more like the dangerous outfit that took last year’s crown.
But while the backs scored all three tries and the Reds jumped to a 12-0 lead after just seven minutes, it was their low tackling and ruck dominance that ultimately won the day.
Desperate to end a five-match losing streak, the Blues had all the running in the second half as they dominated the set-pieces after going down 20-8 but couldn’t cross the line.
“In the end we defended better than what they did,” McKenzie said. “That was an indication of where the team is in terms of attitude.”
The one disappointment for the Reds was a worrying ankle injury to flanker Beau Robinson who teamed superbly with Gill and Scott Higginbotham in the back-row.
Robinson will undergo scans this weekend while there’s more optimism about prop James Slipper who was also replaced with an ankle concern.
Queensland’s scintillating start was highlighted by Ioane, in his 50th Reds match, crossing after just 60 seconds following a Ben Lucas cross-kick to lock Rob Simmons.
Five-eighth Lucas also fired a cut-out pass to fullback Luke Morahan to embarrass the disorganised Blues backline defence for the 12-0 lead.
With Genia pulling the right rein and kicking expertly in general play, the Reds ran amok early as the Blues shot themselves in the foot, particularly at lineout time.
All Black centre Ma’a Nonu sparked a revival with two punishing tackles on Ioane and the home side worked their way back into the game with skipper Luke Braid darting over off the back of a driving maul.
Like the first half, the Reds started the second in fine fashion with Genia making in-roads before putting winger Dom Shipperley over for his fifth try of the season with a perfect cut-out pass.
“I was happy with my effort but more so from a team point of view it was just a great effort in terms of attitude,” the No.9 said.
