Reds v Wales: Five takeaways as Warren Gatland rescued despite creating ‘shambolic’ situation

Following a narrow 36-35 triumph for Wales over the Reds at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Friday, here’s our five takeaways from the clash.

The top line

Wales came into this match with their backs to the proverbial wall due to the Cory Hill situation (more on him later) and currently being on a nine-match losing streak at Test level, but they showed great character to win this match.

Yes, there are still plenty of work-ons but the players who took the field showed that they are a proud rugby nation and gave their all for the full 80 minutes in a game that ebbed and flowed.

Both sides threw everything at each other and Wales eventually outscored their hosts by six tries to five in an exciting encounter which went right down to the wire.

Wales came out firing on all cylinders and looked solid in the contact areas which provided headaches to the Reds early on and it was not surprising that the tourists held a 24-14 lead at half-time.

The visitors continued to dominate during the early stages of the second half and extended their lead when Nick Tompkins crossed the whitewash and it looked like they would end their nine-match losing streak in the international arena.

However, the Reds did not surrender as they launched a stirring fightback during the final 30 minutes. The game became much looser during that period which suited the home side’s style and they were rewarded with three well-taken converted tries.

That gave them the lead but, to their credit, Wales did not panic and battled until the game’s dying moments. Although the Reds put in a resolute defensive effort, Wales were eventually rewarded when Kieran Hardy crossed for the match-winning try in the 78th minute.

Cory Hill situation

It’s quite staggering Warren Gatland thought it was acceptable to hand Hill the captaincy considering the lock’s relatively recent past. The reaction to the initial squad selection, where the second-row was a surprise inclusion for the Australia tour, should have been a sign of the Welsh public’s view, so for the head coach to then hand Hill the leadership responsibility for the Reds clash was an exceedingly poor decision.

Unsurprisingly, there was a significant backlash and a few minutes before the game was due to take place, the forward pulled out, with the captaincy being handed to Gareth Davies. The official line was “personal reasons”, which suggests that the outcry following Gatland’s call has had some kind of impact late in the week.

Whether it was because the Wales boss saw the light or the fact that Hill himself had been affected by the reaction, only those within the camp will know, but whatever the trigger, it has turned into a shambolic affair.

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Relief for Gatland

The Wales boss was no doubt thankful for Hardy, who crossed the whitewash late on to ease the burden on him. A defeat, allied by the Hill fiasco, would have seen Gatland put under even more pressure, but he was rescued by that late score.

Having gone on a run of nine consecutive Test defeats, the Welsh desperately needed the win to lift spirits heading into the November series. We are doubtful that a loss would have signalled the end of the head coach, but it was possibly not getting far from that scenario.

What is for certain is that Wales need a vastly improved end-of-year series and, if he hasn’t been replaced by then, a good Six Nations performance. As we’ve said before, Gatland is not necessarily the problem – there are so many issues within Welsh rugby – but he still needs results to stay in a job and, at the moment, he is not achieving it.

James O’Connor rolls back the years

Although this was a fine effort from the Reds’ entire matchday squad, with the likes of Seru Uru and Mac Grealy giving Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt a timely reminder of their abilities, James O’Connor caught the eye with a superb all-round effort.

The 34-year-old spent most of the Reds’ Super Rugby Pacific campaign battling a hamstring injury and when he was fit during the latter stages of the campaign he found himself behind the likes of Tom Lynagh and Lawson Creighton in the Brisbane-based outfit’s fly-half pecking order.

However, Reds coach Les Kiss opted to start with him at fly-half against Wales and O’Connor showed that he is not a spent force as he showed his class with a fine all-round performance.

The veteran playmaker finished with a 15-point haul courtesy of a try and five conversions, but also caught the eye with excellent decision-making and game management.

Despite his advancing years, he reminded Schmidt that he can still do a job in the international arena as he came very close to helping his team clinch an unlikely victory.

Rolling maul proves effective

Both sides’ forwards put in huge collective shifts in the battle up front and what was good to see is how effectively the rolling maul was used to score points.

Wales were in control of that aspect of the game during the early stages but the Reds showed they are equally adept with their lineout drives as Archie Griffin and Richie Asiata both scored from mauls inside the first quarter.

The maul also played its part in the build-up to Wales’ second five-pointer before the ball taken wide to the backs and Rio Dyer offloaded to Regan Grace, who crossed for his first Wales try.

It was more of the same in the 27th minute when Asiata crossed the whitewash again off the back of a solid lineout drive before Christ Tshiunza did the same to give the tourists a 12-point lead at the interval.

The early stages of the second half saw more of the same and Asiata dotted down again in the 53rd minute from another unstoppable driving maul, which meant he scored a hat-trick of tries that all came in similar fashion.

The rest of the match was highlighted by both teams giving the ball more air but the impact of the rolling maul should not be underestimated on this encounter’s end result.

READ MORE: Wales survive almighty scare against second-string Reds as Warren Gatland ends nine-game drought