Reds V Brumbies Trial 11-2-12 Live Twitter feed

[emuarse]

Scheisse! Has Moore busted his collarbone?

Probably not broken. as per an extract from the Courier-Mail,

In a serious concern for the Brumbies, a downcast Moore was told he'd suffered an AC shoulder injury and will have scans after he flies back to Canberra.​

Even the detection of minor damage will create a major headache for coach White as Anthony Hegarty stands as his only fit hooker with fellow back-up rake Siliva Silva sidelined by a knee injury.​

"The doctor says it could be anything from two weeks to 12 weeks but he thinks it's not too bad," Moore said.​

Alexander will also be assessed for an elbow injury.​

 

[emuarse]

All the news is on Moore's injury, with little mention of Ben Alexander.
The next thing you know, from out of left flank, will be an article saying something like Alexander has a hairline fracture and will be out for 3 months.

 

[emuarse]

Thanks to Rugby Week for this article:

The Reds beat the Brumbies 27-20 in their pre-Super Rugby season clash outscoring the Brumbies by four tries to one in Cairns.​

The Reds were forced to work hard infront of a passionate and vocal Barlow Park crowd although it was tries to Ben Tapuai, Chris Feauai-Sautia, James Horwill and Digby Ioane that saw the Queenslanders begin their pursuit of back-to-back titles in style.​

Tapuai and Sautia crossed the paint in the opening half to give the Reds a handy 17-12 lead before tries to Horwill and Ioane in the second 40 minutes iced the win.​

The Reds defensive efforts proved a major asset throughout the encounter, giving up just one try to Brumbies flanker Michael Hooper, with the efforts at scrum time and the goal kicking of flyhalf Mike Harris, who converted all three attempts including two from the sideline, equally impressive.​

Reds flyer Digby Ioane was a standout after being injected into the match following halftime, as was centre Ben Tapuai and Sautia, who was impressive playing on the wing during the first half before moving to outside centre following a hamstring injury to flyer Aidan Toua.​

"I thought our Wallabies were quite impressive," coach Ewen McKenzie said.​

"At crucial moments they made things happen and that is what you want from those that have played at a National level.​

"The match was a good hitout and we got to try different things. Some of the young guys stood up which was great. You’ve got to take your moments and it’s something we did well last year and again tonight.​

"We can now stop talking about last year and start talking about this year in terms of what we are doing. We can really start getting into the analytical side and looking at our tactics heading into New South Wales.​

Horwill said he was thrilled to see such a large turnout of fans with the Cairns community throwing their support behind the team.​

"The trip has been great. Last year was great and this year has been great," Horwill said.​

"The team loves playing up here in North Queensland. We really enjoy it and hopefully we get more opportunities to come up."​

The Reds enjoyed a dream start to their 2012 campaign when centre Ben Tapuai crossed in the opening minute from a charge-down, giving the reigning Super Rugby champions a 7-0 buffer following Mike Harris’ conversion.​

A spade of penalties in the opening 10 minutes saw the Brumbies cement themselves inside Reds territory although a penalty goal to scrumhalf Nic White was all that was managed before Mike Harris returned the lead back to seven with a sideline penalty attempt.​

Scrumhalf Nick Frisby brought a vocal Cairns crowd to their feet when he sparked a scintillating attacking movement that ended with Sautia scoring his first try in the Reds colours.​

Frisby quickened up the game by opting for a quick tap from a midfield penalty before breaking the line on the ensuing ruck to see Sautia cross in the corner.​

Penalties continued to flow in the Brumbies favour and four Nic White penalty goals in the opening 40 minutes allowed the Brumbies to remain in-reach with the score 17-12 at halftime.​

The Reds injected numerous big-name Wallabies into the mix after the break with captain James Horwill and vice-captain Will Genia entering the fray while Ben Lucas was injected to flyhalf.​

It didn’t take long for their impact to be felt with Horwill on the end of a nicely timed short pass from Genia before powering over the line.​

A try to Brumbies flanker Michael Hooper and penalty goal to Zac Holmes narrowed the margin to two until Digby Ioane brought the crowd to their feet with a try deep inside the second half.​

Fullback Luke Morahan kicked ahead a bouncing ball before forcing an error from the Brumbies just metres from their line that allowed Ioane to pounce for the five-pointer.​

Final Score Reds 27 Brumbies 20​

Scorers​

Reds
Tries : Ben Tapuai, Chris Feauai-Sautia, James Horwill, Digby Ioane
Con Mike Harris 2
Pen :Mike Harris​

Brumbies
Tries
Tries: Michael Hooper ​

Pen : Nic White 4, Zac Holmes​

 

[suckerforred]

The number of penalities that the reds gave up is a worry. Or did they get as many for them just didn't go for the kicks? Need to clean this up either way.

I think that Harris's claims to 10 have had a boost.

Godess - Been to confession yet?

 

[suckerforred]

Just wondering if there is anyone else that is worried about the number of injuries, niggles or otherwise, that appear to have come out of the trials this year. Is that an indication of the big year last year? Doesn't bode well for the long year ahead though. Rests might be enforced rather then by choice.

 

[Slim 293]

Reds sneak home in Cairns

The University of Canberra Brumbies have gone down in their second trial match of 2012, 20-27 against a fired up Queensland Reds in Cairns.

The University of Canberra Brumbies have gone down in their second trial match of 2012, 20-27 against a fired up Queensland Reds in Cairns.

The seven-point margin was a true indicator of the tight encounter, with players and coaches suggesting it had all the physicality and intensity of a mid-season game.

For the University of Canberra Brumbies, Colby Fainga'a, Ita Vaea and Michael Hooper were standouts while Joe Tomane proved he has the ability to tear defences apart with a quality dart down the touchline.

The scoring started for the Reds when a sluggish clearance was charged down for Ben Tapuai to dive on and draw first blood.

His try and another to James Horwill highlighted the only down sides to the University of Canberra Brumbies in the opening half with plenty of pressure applied close to the Reds line.

Questions were asked about the legality of the Reds defence as they appeared to infringe on the University of Canberra Brumbies whenever they came within striking difference.

The University of Canberra Brumbies were happy to claim the points, with Nic White slotting four easy penalties to keep his team in with a sniff at half time, 17-12 down.

The Reds again started the second quarter quickly, knocking the stuffing out of the University of Canberra Brumbies with a soft try to Chris Feauai-Sautai.

It was answered with a good try to Michael Hooper, but the University of Canberra Brumbies couldn’t contain the Reds in the final minutes with Digby Ioane darting across for the clinching try to make it 27-20.

Backs Coach Stephen Larkham was pleased with the effort from his team reserving special praise for the University of Canberra Brumbies young loose forwards.

“Ita at open-side played an outstanding game, terrorizing the Reds attack with some really big hits,” Larkham said.

“Particularly when Radike Samo had the ball Ita was right in his face putting on pressure. He had a great game.

“In the second half Colby and Michael Hooper were also solid performers. We are pleased with the way they performed.”

Of some concern were injuries to Stephen Moore and Ben Alexander who both left the field in the opening 20 minutes.

They will undergo tests over the coming days with hopes the pair will be ok for the opening game against the Force on 24 February.

The University of Canberra Brumbies will play their final trial this Thursday evening at Raiders Belconnen against the ACT XV, kick-off 7pm.

 

[Slim 293]

I still think the Brumbies best backrow combination would be:

6. Mowen
7. Hooper
8. Vaea

 

[Bruce Ross]

Budding young journalists could learn a lot about writing match reports from the one above from the Brumbies Media Unit which is a classic of its genre.

"Reds sneak home ..." is quite a courageous opening for a game which finished with a seven point margin.

Then of course there is the time honoured convention that an opposition try is "a soft try" while one of ours is "a good try".

Next it is not obligatory but considered excellent form to suggest that the opposition only got there by cheating. This is beautifully addressed by " Questions were asked about the legality of the Reds defence ..." However if I were assessing I would deduct half a point for "... whenever they came within striking difference." I appreciate the desire to avoid cliches but it is best to stick to the customary "... within striking distance."

The principal sponsor should always get a mention. The opposition were initially referred to as the "Queensland Reds" and thereafter as the "Reds" on six occasions. But our brave lads were given the full honorific of the "University of Canberra Brumbies" no less than nine times. My only concern is that if the Media Unit continues to do this all season even the most rusted-on Brumbies supporters might start banging their own heads against the wall.

 

[No4918]

Great post Bruce. Was going to comment on most of those points as well before reading your post.

 

[Chronicle]

Budding young journalists could learn a lot about writing match reports from the one above from the Brumbies Media Unit which is a classic of its genre.

"Reds sneak home ..." is quite a courageous opening for a game which finished with a seven point margin.

Then of course there is the time honoured convention that an opposition try is "a soft try" while one of ours is "a good try".

Next it is not obligatory but considered excellent form to suggest that the opposition only got there by cheating. This is beautifully addressed by " Questions were asked about the legality of the Reds defence ..." However if I were assessing I would deduct half a point for "... whenever they came within striking difference." I appreciate the desire to avoid cliches but it is best to stick to the customary "... within striking distance."

The principal sponsor should always get a mention. The opposition were initially referred to as the "Queensland Reds" and thereafter as the "Reds" on six occasions. But our brave lads were given the full honorific of the "University of Canberra Brumbies" no less than nine times. My only concern is that if the Media Unit continues to do this all season even the most rusted-on Brumbies supporters might start banging their own heads against the wall.

Now the Brumbies Media unit has had their lesson in the subtleties of journalism, Bruce may be so kind as to give Rugby Week a rundown on their piece in the earlier post. Thankfully Michael Hooper played or Brumbies players may not have scored a mention. Would like to see some comments from any members who were at the game.

 

[mudskipper]

Sounds like the young brumbies did well... Let's hope injuries aren't too serious... If the reds won the match in the last minutes they did sneak home. That's a fair call... Last time I looked the only points that matter are the score board tally not how many tries... 27 - 20 is a fair result in a trial against the champs and how many wallabies was it? I'm happy with that... Well done brumbies...

 

[What2040]

First hitout for the Reds - Second for the Ponies. Hopefully link will initially field the stronger side against the Force and then bring on the possibiles. Important for the Reds to get some momentum for the big one against the Tahs.

Shame about Aiden T. - every time he seems set for a big season the poor bugger gets injured - hopefully he recovers quickly

 

[mudskipper]

Ita Vaea at openside was interesting... Are we seeing a South African influence here playing a large openside flanker? Also makes way for Auelua to play 8 or perhaps Mowen... Jake just may have wanted a large man to take Samo out of the equation.

 

[qwerty51]

SA don't play a large openside, they play their opensides at 6 so their number #7s are blindsides.

 

[mudskipper]

Doesnt Bruger play openside?

 

[qwerty51]

He is mostly a blindside, I believe some Saffers were complaining about the lack of a fetcher when he would play alongside Spies and Roussow/Smith/Alberts.

 

[Ignoto]

Questions were asked about the legality of the Reds defence as they appeared to infringe on the University of Canberra Brumbies whenever they came within striking difference.

Even if that is true, glad to see an Australian team taking the Kiwi-Initiative.

 

[Bruce Ross]

Now the Brumbies Media unit has had their lesson in the subtleties of journalism, Bruce may be so kind as to give Rugby Week a rundown on their piece in the earlier post. Thankfully Michael Hooper played or Brumbies players may not have scored a mention. Would like to see some comments from any members who were at the game.

Thank you, Chronicle, for your suggestion that I provide a few appreciative comments on the Rugby Week article reproduced above. I confess that I hadn't actually read it, mainly because it is written in a journalistic style that I would categorise as Name-Spotting. By this I mean something that you would first cast your eye over and if you didn't spot your own name or that of a close family member you probably wouldn't bother trying to wade through it.

While reading it I experienced an eerie intuition that it was written by someone who lives in a semi-tropical environment. Call it the wisdom of old age if you like, but perhaps it was more the fact that Queensland players' names were mentioned 27 times in the article against just five mentions for the visitors.

One of the beauties of the English language is that, unlike French for example, it is constantly evolving. For this reason I love coming across new coinages. Shakespeare of course was always at it. So imagine my delight when I chanced on "a spade of penalties". It's clever; it's evocative; and so much less cumbersome than "a shovel-full of penalties" which would convey the same thought. A less creative mind might have employed the customary but mundane phrase, "a spate of penalties".

"A spade of penalties". Brilliant! I must file that one in the memory bank and trot it out from time to time. "A spade of not-overly-literate media graduates", for example.

 

[suckerforred]

Even if that is true, glad to see an Australian team taking the Kiwi-Initiative.

Maybe so... doesn't make it right though. What ever the reason Reds need to cut it out.

 

[Godfrey]

Depends what "it" is.