Hardy on hand to grab last-gasp win
Reds……………………………..35
Tries: Asiata 14, 28, 51; Grealy 59, 69
Conversions: O’Connor 14, 28, 51, 59, 69
Wales……………………………..36
Tries: Griffin 4, Grace 19, Dyer 21, Tshinunza 38, Tompkins 46, Hardy 79
Conversions: Costelow 19, 21, 46
WITH 80 seconds left of the clock, replacement Kieran Hardy touched down to end Wales’ run of nine consecutive defeats.
It brought a huge sigh of relief to Welsh followers as their side looked set to extend their miserable run after a resurgent Reds had staged an astonishing comeback to turn around a 31-14 deficit.
Wales tour captain Dewi Lake said: “We’ve been struggling to get over the line and get the win and the Reds played out of their skin tonight with their driving maul a massive threat. One thing we’ve been good at across the tour is staying in the game and working hard, that proved to be the case tonight.”
Neither side deserved to lose an enthralling contest of 11 tries with a number of Welsh players pushing their case for future selection. None more so than powerful young Cardiff No.8 Mackenzie Martin, whose ball-carrying added an extra dimension.
In addition, Scarlets‘ half-backs Sam Costelow and Gareth Davies flourished in an open game while a sharp Rio Dyer had his best game in a Welsh shirt for some time.
Wales were returning to Queensland for the first time since July 1991, when they were defeated 35-24, and for this fixture they controversially selected Cory Hill as their captain. Hill had previously skippered them in 2018 but in May 2021, he was named among a group of men involved in an unpleasant incident in which a woman’s home was damaged.
Hill then took up a career in Japan where he played fourth division rugby before being surprisingly recalled by head coach Warren Gatland to end up leading the team but 30 minutes before the start it was announced Hill had withdrawn for personal reasons.
The selected side lacked a number of first choices but noticeably didn’t contain one Osprey despite the region being the most successful last season.
Queensland were without their current international contingent but still had 14 players in their starting line-up who had Super Rugby experience including 64-cap James O’Connor, who has transferred from the now defunct Melbourne Rebels.
Wales began strongly when their find of the tour, tighthead Archie Griffin, crashed over from close-range before Richie Asiata scored the first of his three tries as the tourists struggled with their ill-discipline and the Reds’ driving lineout.
However Wales stunned the Reds with two tries in three minutes with Dyer at the centre of the action. First some skilful passing saw him send Regan Grace over for a debut try before the Dragons‘ wing collected Costelow’s cross-field kick to score.
Wales hooker Evan Lloyd was sin-binned for persistent team infringements before Asiata added his second but crucially Christ Tshuinza scored a fourth try for the visitors to give them a 24-14 lead.
When Nick Tompkins evaded two defenders to score, the game looked up for the Reds but they staged a remarkable rally with outstanding flanker Seru Uru spearheading the charge. Asiata completed his hat-trick before stunning handling created two tries for Mac Grealy, one an absolute gem which began on the Aussie line.
Wales regrouped and after countless phases, Hardy dummied his way over to give his side a much needed morale-booster.
CLOSE-UP
JAMES O’CONNOR Reds fly-half V SAM COSTELOW Wales fly-half
Both will be pleased with their efforts. Costelow missed a few kicks but varied his game nicely and his cross-field kick set up a try for Dyer. O’Connor threatened the gain-line throughout, being exemplary from the tee, and was unfortunate to see his first-half try ruled out which would have rewarded his enterprise on an encouraging debut for the Reds.
