March 3 (Reuters) – Super Rugby champion Queensland Reds
needed another perfect kicking performance from flyhalf Mike
Harris to overcome Western Force 35-20 in a scrappy encounter in
Brisbane on Saturday.
The Reds scored first-half tries through Ben Tapuai and
Radike Samo in greasy conditions at Lang Park but it was the 25
points from a flawless display of place-kicking from Harris, who
has yet to miss a kick in Super Rugby, that proved the
difference.
“I’m pleased to win but not pleased with how we got it,”
Reds and Wallabies captain James Horwill said in a televised
interview. “Ball control was poor again and to allow them the
soft tries that we did is just not good enough.”
The Force’s tries came at the start of the second half from
David Pocock and James Stannard but the Perth-based outfit never
looked like having the cutting edge to convert pressure into
enough points to threaten the upset.
Reds winger Tapuai cantered down the sideline breaking
tackles for the first try after 20 minutes and number eight Samo
added the second 16 minutes later with a 40-metre intercept that
had echoes of his try for Australia against New Zealand last
year.
All the while Harris, standing in for the injured Quade
Cooper, kept kicking points from all parts of the field and the
Reds went in for halftime 23-6 up.
Two tries in five minutes in the third quarter of the match
brought the Force back into the contest, however.
Captain Pocock led the way with his charge over opposite
number seven Beau Robinson to score under the posts before a
slick sidestep from Stannard sealed a brilliant solo effort and
the flyhalf converted both to narrow the lead to 26-20.
Harris extended the Reds’ lead by another three points with
a superbly executed kick from the right touchline just before
the hour mark and concluded the scoring with two more in the
last quarter.
Harris has now made 16 kicks from 16 attempts in the first
two matches of the season.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney, editing by Peter
Rutherford)
(For the
sports blog Left Field go to: blogs.reuters.com/sport))
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