Super Rugby Au: Top Five Players Of The Day
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The Reds claimed their fourth consectutive win on Friday as they overturned a 14 point deficit to beat the Western Force 31-24 at Suncorp Stadium.
A thrilling game saw 4 tries being scored in the opening 20 minutes of the game while there was another charge down from a conversion kick, big hits and one excellent 50/22 from James O'Connor.
We have picked out our top five players from the game with a number of players unlucky to miss out.
Taniela Tupou - Queensland Reds
Powerful scrummaging, strong ball carries, solid defence and a meat pie capped off another excellent performance from the Tongan Thor.
Tupou put in a massive 90 minute shift for the Reds last week when the game went into extra time and hardly looked as if he would tire today either with another strong 79 minutes.
Brad Lacey will be feeling a bit Thor in the morning #REDvFOR pic.twitter.com/PuyjCnwbyN
— Steve Lenthall (@steve_l15) July 17, 2020
Byron Ralston - Western Force
Ralston scored the Force's second and third try of the game that should have tied things up at halftime had Jono Lance's kick not been charged down.
The Force speedster's first try was from an excellent chip over the top from Jono Lance with Marcel Brache and Brynard Stander with the latter providing the winger the final pass to race in for the try.
His second was a well-read intercept as he grabbed a Reds' pass to sprint from inside his own 22 and dot down under the sticks.
The former Brisbane man was threatening every time he touched the ball and did well on defence to cut off a few Reds' attacks.
Liam Wright - Queensland Reds
The Reds' captain looks more and more like a Wallaby with every week that passes.
The powerful blindside was effective once again at ruck time and even better in the lineout providing the Reds with an excellent base to attack from.
He also managed to force two turnovers for his side and for a second week in a row he was denied a try with his excellent understanding of the law.
Scrumhalf Jacob Abel had the ball close to his own tryline and Wright dived in on the ball once it touched the line but unfortunately for the big man, Abel has judged to have dotted the ball down before he got his mitts on it.
Jono Lance - Western Force
The Force played a wonderful attacking brand of rugby against the Reds with Lance at the heart of his side's effort.
32 running metres and a great mix of passes and kicks kept the Reds' defence guessing with one of his chip and chases leading to a try for Byron Ralston.
Lance did miss two crucial shots at goal, one was charged down while the other came off the post which could have changed the game completely but Lance was crucial to the Force today.
It also wasn't all out attack for the pivot as he racked up an incredible 18 tackle tally missing just one.
James O'Connor - Queensland Reds
An excellent all-round game from James O'Connor.
He put in an excellent 50/22 in the first half which led to a try for the Tongan Thor, linked up well with his fellow backs and nailed an easy drop goal to secure the victory for his side.
He also picked up a try assist and was flawless from the tee.
