The Reds were made to work for their Super Rugby victory but got the job done in beating the Lions 34-20 in Brisbane on Saturday.
The defending champions held a slender 13-6 lead at half-time, but managed to pull away after the break courtesy of three second-half tries that also resulted in the hosts bagging their all-important bonus point.
Whilst it wasn't the most convincing of wins for the home side, it certainly was a crucial one as Queensland continue to build some much-needed momentum ahead of their showdown with the Brumbies next weekend.
It was the Reds' second win on the trot while the Lions have now registered ten losses in a row and remain rock-bottom. Ewen McKenzie's side moves to 36 points, temporarily level in the last wildcard spot with the Sharks.
Fly-half Quade Cooper made a positive return from injury after a seven month layoff and played the entirety of the first half, showing flashes of his attacking best.
Defending at full-back, Cooper made a couple of midfield breaks and his combination with scrum-half Will Genia showed little rust however some of the more unpredictable plays failed to come off.
Mike Harris enjoyed another perfect night with the boot, kicking four conversions and two penalties.
In-form teenage flanker Liam Gill crossed for the first try of the match, while Lions pivot Elton Jantjies kept his team in the hunt with two first-half penalties.
The Reds broke free after the break though with tries to hooker Saia Faingaa, debutant winger Chris F'Sautia and a trademark long range effort from Genia to secure the bonus point.
Coach Ewen McKenzie gave the bench a run with 20 mins to play and the Lions staged a mini comeback scoring two tries through their reserves Martin Buzuidenhout and Jaco Kriel.
The scorers:
For Reds:
Tries: Gill, S Faingaa, Feauai-Sautia, Genia
Cons: Harris 4
Pens: Harris 2
For Lions:
Try: Bezuidenhout, Kriel
Cons: Jantjies 2
Pens: Jantjies 2
Reds: 15 Ben Lucas, 14 Dom Shipperley, 13 Anthony Faingaa, 12 Mike Harris, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia; 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Jake Schatz, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 Rob Simmons, 3 James Slipper, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Greg Holmes.
Replacements: James Hanson, Ben Daley, Adam Wallace-Harrison, Eddie Quirk, Nick Frisby, Chris F'sautia, Luke Morahan.
Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Jaco Taute, 11 Michael Killian, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Joshua Strauss (c), 7 Grant Hattingh, 6 Derick Minnie, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Franco van der Merwe, 3 Patric Cilliers, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 CJ Van der Linde, 18 Cobus Grobbelaar, 19 Jaco Kriel, 20 Tian Meyer, 21 Ruan Combrinck, 22 James Kamana.
Referee: Keith Brown (New Zealand)
Comments
Wallaroo says...
@Trinats good answer mate, love it.
Posted 15:47 22nd May 2012
Trinats2 says...
J4A, Cooper makes Two trys for every missed tackle, do the maths. I know who'd I have at 10.
Posted 13:39 21st May 2012
tha_mai says...
new_j4a says... Cooper finally defend. .. contact with anyone on their feet?
well he and Horvill collided (Horvill's fault) under a high ball, I guess that will count as a tackle in QC's stats!
But seriously, good to see him back from injury and didn't look like he needed to be subbed, fair enough being cautious on comeback. I wouldn't go so far as to agree with the Brisbane Times headline: "Cooper dazzles on his return for Reds" in the context of the opposition, it was a good start back for him.
Posted 08:44 21st May 2012
new_j4a says...
@kiwiLad, shoulder charge a ball boy? Who came off best?
Posted 00:28 21st May 2012
kiwilad says...
new_J4a I feel certain Cooper will have run into someone, albeit accidentally.
Posted 23:18 19th May 2012
new_j4a says...
A few missed tackles from the Reds? Haven't watched the game,but will do so in the hope of seeing Cooper finally defend. Did he manage contact with anyone on their feet?
Posted 15:02 19th May 2012
jonesy2 says...
reds starting to really look the goods. amazing how cooper on his return can have such an immediate impact. chris sautia, remember that name that kid looks like being a superstar of rare preportions much like liam gill who again was basically just a reincarnation of pocock
Posted 13:59 19th May 2012
Wallaroo says...
Well done Reds. I was expecting a much bigger gap in the scoreline. Good to see Cooper back, only a bit rusty so looks good for the future. You must be happy with his return performance Trinats.
Also well done to the Lions who lifted their game considerably.
Posted 13:14 19th May 2012