The Queensland Reds have wrapped up the Japan leg of their tour in style, prevailing in a loose, but high-scoring and entertaining affair against Robbie Deans’ Panasonic Wild Knights.
Despite a second-half fightback that threatened to see the Japanese powerhouse snatch it at the death, Les Kiss’ men recovered well to win 42-28 – with the backline weapons proving the best finds on a beautiful afternoon at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium.
The visitors opened the score early, with two tries inside the opening seven minutes – including one to GPS’ and new Red speedster Floyd Aubrey.
It took twenty minutes for the hosts to get into the match, but Tatsuhiro Tanji finally got them on the board in the 22nd minute, after not being held by the Reds’ defence.
The Reds regathered momentum off the set piece and a strong scrum, with Kalani Thomas enjoying a strong performance at half-back, delivering several pin-point kicks off the ruck.
Favourable field position and pressure resulted in Aubrey going over for his second to take the margin back to two converted tries – however some sloppy work off the ball from the restart saw the Knights’ Jack Cornelsen capitalise almost immediately to bring the margin back to seven within two minutes.
The Reds restarted and eventually picked up a penalty goal, going into halftime 24-14 ahead.
Maintaining the momentum in the second half, a perfectly weighted Thomas kick saw Aubrey pick up his third try under the posts – although replays suggested the ball might have been on in goal, and the Reds looked like running away with the match.
However, taking advantage of some poor handling, the Wild Knights stuck back inside five minutes to cut the margin to ten – with Ockie Barnard scoring out wide.
The margin was then cut to three in the 60th minute, with sustained forward pressure off the lineout leading to talented winger Koki Takeyama to score under the posts – but the arrival of several key reinforcements in Louis Werchon, Harry McLaughlin-Phillips and Will Cartwright reignited the Reds backline potency.
Sustained pressure from the set piece saw Crusader, Northland product and new arrival Heremaia Murray benefit, scoring in the 66th minute in the corner to extend the margin, although replays suggested he was held up.
With the margin still less than ten, the Wild Knights tried to claw their way back into the game, however, poor discipline and strong pressure management from the Reds saw the home side concede several penalties, with McLaughlin-Phillips slopping two penalty goals to put the match beyond doubt.
Despite an at-times messy performance, with many cobwebs present, Les Kiss’ side can take confidence from the result – with a synergised forward pack proving effective and exciting talents in the backline proving effective.
They will enjoy the rest of 2024 off, before reconvening in January for their tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
