The Queensland Reds have just suffered a gut-wrenching late loss to Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby Pacific.
Trailing 10 – 0 at halftime, the Reds came rushing back into the contest early in the second half as prop Peni Ravai crashed over to cut the deficit to 10 – 7.
The visitor’s evening would get all the more challenging as co-captain Tate McDermott was sent initially to the sin bin, which was upgraded to a red for a swinging arm.
Moment of madness has Reds captain sent off
Despite being a man down, the Reds launched wave after wave attack and were eventually rewarded as Jordan Petaia showed his finishing ability with a clever leap into the right-hand corner.
Now leading 14 – 10, the Reds were firmly in the ascendancy but could not crack the Moana defence for another score.
As it so often does in rugby, the momentum began to shift in Moana’s favour.
During this period, Reds star backrow Fraser McReight was sent off for a high tackle on Moana’s flyhalf William Havili.
McReight’s dismissal meant that despite the Reds having a player coming back on to replace McDermott, they would never get back to a full compliment.
This would proof costly as Havili got his revenge by diving over with time expiring to secure a third win of the season for Moana.
A second red card for the Reds as Fraser McReight is sent from the park.#SuperRugbyPacific #MOAvRED pic.twitter.com/gWgG9JYfZD
— FloRugby (@FloRugby) April 12, 2024
Sign In