Reds 19 v Chiefs 21

QUEENSLAND Reds coach Eddie Jones fired a post-match salvo at young gun Quade Cooper's management after the rookie misfired during a heart-breaking defeat that singled the worst Reds losing run in 20 years.

Five-eighth Cooper dropped the ball almost as many times as he caught it at Suncorp Stadium as Queensland lost 21-19 to the Chiefs after staring victory in the face.

The 18 year old appeared desperate to produce the match-winning play every time he had the ball against the province of his birth but made four errors in the first 18 minutes, among them six dropped balls in what was a scrappy match.

A downcast Jones took aim at whiz-kid Cooper's unnamed agent for "bad advice" in pumping him up as a star-in-the-making. "His manager is pushing him here there and everywhere," he said. "At school he was the biggest kid on the block. Now he's the smallest kid on the block and it's hard. "He's an outstanding young player and he doesn't need to be spoken about in a World Cup squad, he shouldn't be talking to the Wallabies (Australia) coach, he shouldn't be having extra kicking lessons with a punting coach."

The self-destructing Reds let yet another second-half lead slip - the fourth time they have done so this season - to fall to their seventh straight loss and stay entrenched on the bottom of the ladder.

Chiefs fly half Stephen Donald delivered the painful blow in the 77th minute when he slotted a 36-metre penalty goal to take back the lead after prodigal son Andrew Walker had put the Reds in front just a minute earlier.

In a play which has epitomised their season, lock James Horwill dropped the restart and reserve prop Ernest Skelton was penalised at the breakdown. Not since Bob Templeton led the amateur Queensland to seven consecutive defeats in 1988 has the state suffered such a poor run.

Lock Kristian Ormsby scored both of the Chiefs' tries, with his second coming just two minutes into the second half after Queensland held a 16-10 lead at the break. It was laid on by Sione Lauaki's storming run over the top of Waikato-bred Cooper.

Cooper did show his undisputed class in the 30th minute with a deft inside ball to David Croft put the tenacious flanker into space and he shook off a feeble tackle by Lauaki in a 25-metre run to the line.

Jones praised the performance of 33-year-old full back Walker, who gave the Reds the spark and cool head they needed on several occasions times. But he was ultimately left to admit it would take longer to solve inherent problems in the team. "We've got guys out there (in the dressing room) bawling their eyes out now," Walker said.
"Sometimes as an organisation you have to hit rock bottom . . . to see how deep-seated your problems are. "That's five out of eight games now that we've been ahead at the 70-minute mark and I think we've won one."

Reconditioned New Zealand halfback Byron Kelleher and teammate Sitiveni Sivivatu produced a mixed bag, with Kelleher making a break with his first touch but Sivivatu unable to finish it. The winger, run down by Hynes, also bombed a golden chance midway through the second half when a pass went beyond Donald just metres from the line.

Loose-head prop Herman Hunt deserved a bravery award after lasting 71 minutes and ensuring a stable scrum despite injuring his shoulder early in the piece.

QUEENSLAND REDS 19 (David Croft try; Andrew Walker con, 4 pens)
CHIEFS 21 (Kristian Ormsby 2 tries; Stephen Donald con, 3 pens)
Referee: Willie Roos (RSA)
Crowd: 16,830 at Suncorp Stadium.

didnt see the game but it sounds bad. thats the last thing reds need. eddie better sort them out now insted of mucking around and playing differntly every week.

Once again eddie is quick to jump on someone, or to pass the buck in regards to coopers agent and connolly, and not offer praise were it is due, re, hunts supreme effort...I didn't see the game so i can't offer a true opinion, but i know how hard it is to play in the frontrow with an injury, and to do so in the super14s against a strong pack like the chiefs, he deserves a big pat on the back...But no, eddie once again concentrates on the negatives, other than his bum chum Walker...

Considering the injury problem the Reds have I thought they played pretty well. They had opportunities to win but just didn't have the class to pull them off.

In addition, I guess that was only a snippet of Eddie's interview and maybe he's right that putting that amount of pressure on an 18 year old is not really the best way to develop him.

I did watch the game and I thought the red's did self-destruct a little bit ... they should have won that game!! I also thought the ref's gave out some pretty interesting penalties against the Reds ...

In some ways though, Eddies constant criticism of refs has probably bought a bit of pressure on the way they ref Qld games, or a sub concious desire to penalise them has been bought about after he continually rags on them week in week out...
As i said, i didn't see the game, or the post match interview, so i could be wrong in saying he didn't hand out any praise, but the media have highlighted the fact that he has had a go at Quades' agent and this is what i have based my opinion on...I actually agree that he probably had too much pressure on him...

True enough, Eddie hasn't done himself any favours but the media love to manipulate things so that they get the best possible selling story out of these things. Eddie certainly hasn't contained them very well. I guess that is why we are lucky to have Mitch as he says very little and therefor we get left alone relative to the Reds and the Tahs.

My first reaction was - why is that an issue for the media? The subtext is that he thinks Cooper is getting an overinflated opinion of himself due to external influences, and that is the sort of thing best said behind closed doors.

Still, all good for us. We have a bunch of players to re-sign and I have real concern over a couple of our young wings. Their lots wouldn't be improved at the Brumbies, the Waratahs have done themselves no favours with the signing of League players, so the Reds are the most likely destination. So who would the players rather play for - Mitch or Eddie? Mind you, if the rumours are true, Eddie is just having a spray at everyone before making tracks overseas.

This is from http://www.thewest.com.au/default.as...ontentID=24440
today

Rugby Union


Queensland cry poor - $1.7m in debt
26th March 2007, 8:45 WST

Western Force will spend Australia’s three other Australian Super 14 team into the poorhouse unless a salary cap is introduced, warns Queensland Rugby Union chairman Peter Lewis.

Click here to find out more!

Lewis blamed soaring player wages for a $1.7 million loss posted at the QRU’s annual meeting and predicted a complete shift of rugby power to Perth if the Australian Rugby Union did not change its player contracting system.

“The Force seem to have limitless mining company support, so they’ll have the Wallabies over there and the rest of us getting flogged every week,” warned Lewis in Brisbane’s Courier Mail newspaper.

“If we don’t get it right and reel this spending in, the Brumbies, followed by us and then the Waratahs, will be in serious financial strife trying to keep a team together.

“We’ve lost $1.7 million trying to be competitive. Do you need any more proof?”

The Reds’ two-point loss to the Chiefs at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday was their seventh consecutive defeat, Queensland’s worst losing skid in 20 years.

The Reds have been particularly hard-hit by the Force’s aggressive recruiting and do not have the depth to cope with an extreme injury crisis this year.

Lewis said the QRU had insisted on another review of the national contracting system at the end of this season because it felt a similar assessment last year had proved ineffectual.

Queensland will push strongly for a salary cap to be introduced. “The review later this year is make-or-break, in my view,” said Lewis, who also wants the ARU to scrap its top-up component, instead offering increased match payments to Wallabies.

“There should be a salary cap as there is in rugby league and there should be an independent auditor who can access tax returns.

“I have no problem paying players what they are worth but when you distort the market with a Lote Tuqiritype transaction, you throw all the rules out the door.

“The inflationary pressure of these transactions is huge.”

He pointed to the Reds’ struggle to be competitive despite increased spending as an example of what would inevitably happen to others.

“If we hadn’t spent that much, imagine what team we would have and where we would be,” he said.

“It’s all about money, not about structure or a level playing field.”

Lewis is also unhappy about the perceived bias of the ARU to prop up NSW at the expense of the other States.

The ARU last week spent big to lure rugby league player Timana Tahu to the Waratahs, weeks after refusing to help the Reds’ bid for Cowboys forward Luke O’Donnell.

Last year, the Reds got Canberra Raiders full-back Clinton Schifcofske without ARU help.

ARU operations manager Pat Wilson pointed out the Reds received the same grant of $4.3 million as Australia’s three other teams.

He said changes to the contracting system would not be easy to make.

DAVE HUGHES

Qld crying again, serious case of sour grapes i reckon, no one heard waru moaning last year as we were decimated by injury, and we still kept our supporters coming through the doors...Support equals income fellas, thats the big picture...Plus the mining industry is going off in Qld at the moment as well, so maybe they should chase some corporate $$$ rather than bitching about our financial supporters...

Any chance we could organise a petition and put a media ban on eddie?

Eddie is possibly keeping fans away, plus I must say the promo lacks oomph here in Briz. (Change the name!#*!)

Thanks TQO for that post, we could have more at games but the profile here is much less than league. Rugby was great at Ballymore at 16k for atmosphere, but at 52k its a lot harder at Suncorp to generate.

After watching the WHOLE game, Reds did much better than v Force, but it feels more like 'warm-up pre-season' with Eddie getting to know the players and how best to utilize them, injuries withstanding. And now the rumours begin of Eddies departure.......Aaaarggghhhhhh :mad:

Suncorp Stadium is the right venue for the Reds - just got to start winning. If there can be a consistent season, there's no reason that Reds can't regularly attract crowds of 35000 - 45000. If they could make semis/final, no reason a 50000+ crowd couldn't be achieved. But the rugby gods must take pity on the Reds injuries. Problem is, The Reds have been shit since the move to Suncorp (admittedly, this has been largely due to horrendous injury tolls for several years now).