The Queensland Reds aren’t exactly a side that came into the 2008 Super 14 season with winning form. Perhaps it’s a positive sign that their season opening 22-16 win over the Otago Highlanders has been received with cautious optimism from within, rather than jubilation.
Neither side is expected to figure at the pointy end of the season, however the Reds picked up four valuable points to collect momentum for the hard road that awaits.
Reds captain John Roe led from the front, posting two of the Reds three tries. “From where we’re at, we’ll take the first win and go on to next week,” Roe told Fox Sports.
“That gets a monkey off our back.”
Queensland became noticeably nervous in the second half, unable to put the finishing touches to an Otago side that refused to die
“Maybe I think we put on a defensive mode and the Highlanders tried to work the ball through the hands. We played to our pattern pretty well. We just got a little bit conservative,” Roe said.
The win gives new coach Phil Mooney an encouraging start to his time at the Reds. “We gave a lot of penalties, which allowed them back into the game, when we should have put them away by half time. They’re the games we need to turn into five points,” Mooney told Fox Sports.
Mooney admitted the Reds’ paucity of success has led self-doubt. “We need to be more clinical. Maybe we sell ourselves a little short. We’ll certainly get better than that.”
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