| 80 | Time up on the clock, but the Reds aren't done yet. Morgan Turinui finds a hole in his former team-mates' wall of defence and fills it with a telling burst up the middle. He puts in a clever chip kick ahead for Hynes to chase. Phil Waugh is also chasing, but Hynes wins the race, gathers and slides over for a splendid consolation try in injury time! The conversion is missed though, but the Reds at least get a bonus point from this brave effort. The whistle goes and the Waratahs have won and booked themselves a home Super 14 semi-final! The big question now is who will they host? There's still plenty if ruggers to be played and questions to be answered. We're not going anyway, hope you're not either! Thanks for joining us folks. Ciao for now. |
| 78 | Rob Horne gives chase to Beale's clearance, the ball isn't out and Caleb Brown is taken out by the Waratahs teen sensation. Play continues as the Reds have one last throw of the dice. They can't win the game, but they can at least finish on a high in front of their home fans. |
| 74 | Quick throw-in by Dean Mumm now, Phil Waugh takes it unexpectedly and spills it forward. He curses to the skies above. Play continues though and Morgan Turinui picks up and goes. Again, they work the short side and again it's Hynes that takes it up futher. He runs out of space, but keeps the ball in play by passing a desperate inside ball that goes astray. Cooper dives on the loose ball, but is blown up for holding on. |
| 72 | Line-out and drive now by the Reds, the Waratahs are up to the challenge and dig in their heels. The Reds huff and puff, but can't blow the Waratahs' defence down. The backline decide to have a go. Berrick Barnes dummies, but slips. He's swamped by light blue jerseys, but the Reds manage to retain possesion. Out side it goes to Hynes again, but Rodney Blake is the man who gets the ball - a prop on the wing - the Reds weren't counting on that! As predicted, the big man is bundled into touch. |
| 70 | The Reds have a run down the right-hand touchline thanks to Peter Hynes who has been threatening all night. He's taken high, gets a kick away, but the ref rules play on. The crowd question the man with the whistle's call with booes and jeers. The Waratahs play on and are happy to grubber the ball into touch just outside their 22. Ten minutes left and it's the Waratahs to lose! |
| 68 | PEN BEALE. The Reds are handing the Waratahs this match on a silver platter after giving away yet another penalty. This time the forwards guilty of entering the ruck from an offisde position. Would normally be a free kick, but the ref has warned them on several occasions. Beale lines up a similar shot to the one he knocked over earlier and does so again! The Waratahs are getting closer to that semi now. |
| 64 | PEN BEALE. Finally, Beale manages to kick his first penalty of the match. It was a simple enough attempt - but the way he's been connecting the ball, it's been 50/50 every time he lines up a kick. The flags go up and the Waratahs extend their lead to 6-15. |
| 62 | The ball isn't out though, and Sam Norton-Knight gives a good chase and collects. Schifcofske has come from an offside position to snatch the ball off the Waratahs' full-back and is blown up for his efforts. He's lucky not to get a yellow for that. Instead, Beale will line up a kick at goal and try extend his team's lead. |
| 60 | The ball is getting juggled left, right and centre now between both sides now after a run and a pass by Morgan Turinui isn't controlled by his support. Barnes gets hold of it, but a fancy back flip is taken by Rocky Elsom who shows that he can give the ball some air and makes a few valuable yards. |
| 58 | The Waratahs are allowed to clear their lines after the touch judge calls out Leroy Houston for a high hit on Dean Mumm - it didn't seem too bad. He ducked into it! Harsh call, but it won't be a yellow at least. Beale bangs the ball into touch and the Waratahs are finally out of their 22. It's been the Reds that have been dominating so far this half - but they have failed to turn possesion into points. |
| 54 | Turinui, Barnes and Hynes all combine to get the crowd on their feet through excellent ball handling skills. The Waratahs are forced to make the tackles here - Hynes is away! No, he's called back. The ref has adjudged a forward pass - but it came off Rocky Elsom. Bad call by the ref on that occasion - the Reds could have scored and turned this match on it's head. |
| 52 | Stolen line-out now for the Reds - their second of the night after Cooper was guilty of kicking directly out on the full. The Reds have been given some extra metres thanks to a free kick by the ref - the Waratahs weren't back ten metres, so the Reds will gain some more ground - they all count! Finally, a quick tap is taken by Lucas and the Reds backline weave their magic. |
| 50 | Clinton Schifcofske will have another chance at three points here - again, it's along way out, but all he has to do is kick it straight. He does just that, but can't make the distance as the ball drops just short. |
| 48 | Clash of the front rows now as Ben Coutts and Benn Robinson take each other on in the midfield - what are those two props doing out there?! It seems Coutts has got the better of his opposite number and wins a penalty after Robinson is guilty of playing the ball off his feet. |
| 46 | The Reds manage to turn over possesion in midfield - they must have eaten more oranges at half-time. Berrick Barnes thinks about a drop off his left foot, it's struck well and is... over! Well taken kick there by the 2007 World Cup rookie. The Reds add to their three points and close the gap to just six points. 6-12. |
| 44 | It's taken quickly and sent wide to Tuqiri - he's played well tonight. The Wallaby winger makes heaps of ground on the left touchline and has the crowd screaming "tackle!!!". The Reds are up to the task, but Tuqiri manages to throw the ball over the top of his head in the hope that one of his team-mates will catch it. Instead, it falls into the hands of Ben Lucas who turns and clears. |
| 42 | Welcome back to the second half as Beale gets us underway once again. Leroy Houston takes it in and tries to bully his way up the touchline - he wins a free kick for his team however after some wondering Waratahs hands were found in the ruck. Cooper is called to clear and does just that, but it will be a Waratahs throw-in. |
| 40 | Beale lines up the tricky touchline conversion, he can be forgiven for missing this one - his hardest kick of the match. What's this? It's looking good - but no, bounces off the post! Unlucky there, so close yet so far and Beale's kicking woes continue. Four missed kicks at goal in the first half. But the Waratahs have a 12-3 lead, so they will be going into the half-time sheds with their tails up. Can they keep up their dominance in the second? Stick around to find out! |
| 38 | TRY PALU. If the Reds can keep the Waratahs out from scoring before half-time, they would have done well. A line-out is set up 15 metres from the hosts line - it's a Waratahs throw-in. Vickerman takes it at the back, Palu starts an ensuing maul with his team-mates, but he doesn't need them as a gap opens up and the big man is through. Nobody's going to stop him at full stride and he's over! The Reds certainly didn't need that one minute in from half-time. |
| 36 | The Reds playing with a bit more confidence following that kick, perhaps too much as the entire backline is penalised for strolling offside. Beale has another chance to get some more points on the board, but surprise surprise - he misses! That's his third miss this match. |
| 34 | Clinton Schifcofske has been given the orders to go for goal - the Reds wants some points and they gonna get them wherever they can it seems. It's a long shot, but the flags go up! The Reds are on the board and Kurtley Beale will be taking tips from under the posts. 3-7 |
| 32 | The Waratahs take a long drop-out, Caleb Brown gets his first touch of the ball and shows his home crowd what he can do. It's not much, but it's enough to win a penalty for yet another high tackle. The Waratahs had better be careful or a yellow card will be coming there way very soon. |
| 30 | The Reds only have pride to play for and it's no wonder captain James Horwill decides for five points instead of three. It doesn't work out though - Cooper overcooks his kick and the Reds send another opportunity packing. |
| 26 | It's a nightmare of errors from the Reds - first Stephen Moore doesn't find his jumper in the line-out. But he manages to get the ball back anyway what looked like a knock-on, but the ref waves play on. The ball then gets swung behind Quade Cooper, Morgan Turinui gets back to recover but knocks the ball futher backwards with his knee. David Croft steps in to fix things, a high tackle ends this circus of errors. |
| 24 | The Waratahs have been controlling all the possesion (75 per cent) and territory (65 per cent) in the opening quarter of this match. The Reds have never looked like scoring, but have a chance to threaten the Waratahs line with a line-out ten meters out. |
| 22 | Beale adds the extras from right in front of the posts - the Reds crowd give him a sarcastic cheer as the youngster finally raises the flags with his first succesful kick. 0-7 to the Waratahs and they are on their way to a Super 14 semi-final! |
| 20 | TRY MUMM. The ball is taken up by Phil Waugh after a storming run by Tuqiri left the Reds defence in tatters. The Waratahs forwards and back are combining superbly as Waugh finds Tom Carter in support and is all of a sudden in a one on one situation with Morgan Turanui. He can't get past the Reds centre, but passes an inside ball to Dean Mumm who finds himself over the line untouched for the opening try of the match. All too easy! |
| 17 | Sixth phase now from the Reds after snatching a line-out off the Waratahs - they doing well keeping the ball up with the forwards. I must have jinxed them! They've lost it and Beale hammers an up-and-under on the Reds back three which is taken in by Schifcofske. He decides to kick it straight back into the hands of Tuqiri - he'll run it back and does. Trouble for the Reds! |
| 13 | The Reds finally get their hands on the ball - they haven't seen a lot of it so far in this match. Clinton Schifcofske decides to put boot to ball and it gets charged down by Lachie Turner! Second time the Reds have had to scramble back from at attempted clearance. But the ball rolls over the deadball line and Berrick Barnes will have a chance to kick far inside the Waratahs territory with the 22 drop-out. |
| 11 | Chance again for Beale to make up for his earlier blunder with another shot at goal from a similar position after the Reds captain James Horwill was adjudged offside in the tackle. He can't miss again - you can kick this over with your eyes closed. Another miss!!! It doesn't appear to be Beales day with the boot. Reds breath again - they should be 0-6 down. |
| 9 | What's this? Free kick turned into a penalty by the ref - some uncalled punches coming in from Reds lock Van Humphries on opposite number Dan Vickerman. Kurtley Beale has a chance to put the first points on the board with a simple kick at goal. He lines up, but misses! What a shocker. The Reds let off the hook on that occasion. |
| 6 | Charge down on Berrick Barnes' kick by Tom Carter - Clinton Schifcofske races back to save the day and does so easily in the end. The Reds take a a short restart from their 22 and put themselves under all sorts of pressure. The Waratahs manage a turnover and begin their assualt towards the line. They helped along by another free kick, what will Phil Waugh decide to do here? |
| 4 | First scrum of the match as Lachie Turner can't hold on - a wee bit of a push and shove between Croft and Waugh... nothing in it though - these two have been down each other's throats for years! The scrum results in a penalty as the Reds are blown up for not binding. The 'Tahs bang it into touch and opportunity lost for the home side. |
| 2 | And we're underway! First touch for Lote Tuqiri as the Reds kick off in the opposite direction and he makes heaps of ground with his first touch of the ball. Ferocious tackling by the Reds - Croft tackling like a demon! |
| 0 | Welcome to Suncorp Stadium folks for this grudge match between the Reds and the Waratahs - all to play for tonight if your a Waratahs' fan ... a place in the Super 14 final! |