Queensland Reds player ratings: Wallabies captain’s thunderous return as ‘world-class’ Fraser McReight stars in agonising defeat
Our Queensland Reds player ratings against the Hurricanes.
Following a crushing 27-31 defeat to the Hurricanes, here is how we rated the Queensland Reds players in the Super Rugby Pacific clash.
Queensland Reds ratings v Hurricanes
15 Jock Campbell: A standout shift from the Reds‘ full-back. He covered the back-field well, kicking nicely out of hand and proved to be a real weapon in attack, racking up a match-high of 73 metres and beating five defenders. 7
14 Lachie Anderson: Less impactful than his fellow winger but was far from poor. 6
13 Dre Pakeho: Was given a tough challenge against Billy Proctor but on the whole, he rose to the challenge to put in a respectable performance. 6
12 Hunter Paisami: Was bamboozled by Proctor as the midfielder ripped through the heart of the Reds’ defence. He was asked to do a lot of defensive work and ultimately missed quite a few shots. He was however strong in attack. 6
11 Filipo Daugunu: Regularly found metres in behind the Hurricanes‘ defence and went searching for work. Did well on the other side of the ball too. 7
10 Tom Lynagh: After 15 rounds of action, he lined up the Reds’ first penalty shot at goal and slotted it. While he linked up well in attack and controlled things well, he let himself down on defence, missing half of his 10 tackle attempts. 6
9 Tate McDermott: Grabbed a double scoring early in both halves. He not only provided a spark on attack but also patience too and kicked reasonably well on the whole. We saw two excellent number nines in action today. The Wallabies‘ halfback jersey is hotly contested but McDermott is positioning himself well to be the starter. 7
Outstanding back-rowers
8 Harry Wilson: Barely missed a beat on his return as the Wallabies captain returned to a high-quality standard in his first game back in five weeks. Thundering carries and relentless work-rate. He has issued a statement for Joe Schmidt ahead of the Lions series that he wants to retain the captaincy. 8
7 Fraser McReight: A world-class operator and showed it again today as he brilliantly won a turnover right after the Hurricanes’ early try, which led to his side’s opening score from the ensuing lineout. Huge with ball in hand, a continued presence at the breakdown and a titan in defence. He is bound to play a huge role in the Lions series. 8
6 Joe Brial: Carried a trio of Hurricanes’ defenders with him as he powered over the line with a hulking carry. It was just reward for his tireless work-rate at the breakdown and on defence. His try was incredible. 7
5 Ryan Smith: Solid in the lineouts and in defence in a tidy shift. 6
4 Josh Canham: Got hammered by Tyrel Lomax but that can happen to anyone. Otherwise, another solid performance, he rarely has a poor one. 6
3 Zane Nonggorr: He threw his weight around on defence and with ball in hand but Xavier Numia regularly got the better of him in the scrums. 4
2 Richie Asiata: Aggressive in contact and accurate at lineout time but featured in a front row that was back-tracking.6
1 Sef Fa’agase: Struggled against the brilliant Lomax in the scrums but he was decent around the park. 4
Replacements: The Reds fought back well in the second half but much of that was led by the starters. Angus Blyth’s high shot proved costly but the bench just wasn’t able to inspire them to victory. 5
