Queensland Reds v NSW Waratahs, scores, results, kickoff time

Carter Gordon has thrown his hand up as the frontrunner for the Wallabies No.10 jumper, with his two-try heroics orchestrating a 26-17 triumph by the the Queensland Reds over the Waratahs at Suncorp Stadium.

It took more than an hour for the match to emerge from what had been a dour affair to an enterprising thriller, once both teams shelved the endless exchange of box kicking and chanced their arm through the hands.

With Test coach Joe Schmidt watching from the stands, it appeared it would be New South Wales who would steal the points in Brisbane, after they broke a 7-7 deadlock – which had lasted 41 minutes – courtesy of a rolling maul try to Ioane Moananu.

That scoreline had lasted since the 16th minute, after Waratahs flanker Jamie Adamson – a late inclusion for Charlie Gamble – charged over to hit back after Gordon’s bomb and Campbell’s kick pressure had set up Wallabies skipper Harry Wilson for the opening try.

But as the final 20 minutes dawned, the floodgates finally opened. Campbell sliced through the middle of the park and found a late offload for Reds flanker Joe Brial to get deep into Waratahs territory.

The attempted long ball to the wing from halfback Kalani Thomas was knocked down, however Gordon was on hand to pick up the scraps and score his first.

Shortly after, Wallabies flyer Max Jorgensen broke free of his slumber – having been kept far more quiet than his two-try exploits when these teams last faced in round one. The 21-year-old ended his run down the right-hand sideline with a kick ahead, before getting another boot in between Campbell and Filipo Daugunu to toe ahead for Harry Potter to score.

Daugunu was quick to respond with a long-range break from his own backfield, linking up with Isaac Henry to score, before Waratahs centre Triston Reilly sought to produce something truly special with a remarkable acrobatic dive into the corner.

Replays showed the No.13 had put the ball over the sideline upon grounding it, and it wasn’t long after when Gordon burst into the clear around halfway and showed impressive pace to make the line. He left Wallabies winger Harry Potter for dead after taking him on, on the outside.

“We’re seeing that at training,” Reds coach Les Kiss said of Gordon’s eye-popping speed. “I was trying to give him a bit of a rest, I didn’t want to play him for these long minutes because we had a lot of injuries.

“I just couldn’t give him that rest early and we needed to keep one in the pocket. We’re doing a lot to manage some of the kicking load with him and doing the right things there.“

“There were a lot of guys who stood up and absorbed a lot of ball possession pressure. We knew if we stayed in the fight we had a plan, it wasn’t always totally accurate, but the plan got us to a point where we knew the last 15 minutes could be important for us.“

The second half chaos masked what had been a limp encounter until that point, with the clash billed as the derby rivalry of Australian rugby descending into a scrap.

The opening stanza became a battle fought between the 22-metre lines, with more than half of the total possession coming between the Waratahs 22 and halfway.

Box kicking also took precedence for the opening hour, with rival halfbacks Louis Werchon – who came up with one brilliant 50-22, only for the Reds to immediately knock on – and Jake Gordon punting six times each in the first 40 minutes, as their five-eighths sought to spread the ball to little avail.

While the luckless Henry, who has endured one of the game’s more horrifying injury runs, showed impressive signs on Saturday night, the Reds will be hopeful of welcoming back the more imaginative Hunter Paisami from a leg injury in the No.12 jumper in time for the club’s trip to Fiji – where they are yet to win – to face the Drua.

“It’s not the first time he’s thrived, everyone in the Reds environment knows how exceptional Isaac is,” Fraser McReight said about Henry. “He has had a terrible run with injuries and it hurts every single one of us because we know how good he is. He gets an opportunity, he just has a crack and puts himself in every position – he’s so skillful, physical and strong – so when we don’t have Hunter he steps up.“

Reds coach Les Kiss will be pleased by his side’s resilience – overcoming a 12-5 penalty count, while attempting 77 more tackles by full-time.