Reds turn fortunes around to overpower Force March 14, 2010
The enigmatic Queensland Reds produced their A game as they whipped the Western Force 50-10 to complete back-to-back wins for the first time in four years.
The seven-tries-to-one victory lifted the one-time easybeats of Super rugby to fifth on the ladder with the Force scalp added to their wins over the Chiefs last week and earlier victories over the Crusaders and Blues.
Anthony Faingaa, Digby Ioane and Scott Higginbotham scored twice each with Luke Morahan adding the seventh and Quade Cooper landed 13 points with the boot.
Nick Cummins scored the sole try for the Force with James O'Conner landing a conversion and penalty as the winless Perth franchise remained firmly at the bottom of the competition without even a bonus point.
It's been a remarkable turnaround for the Reds, whose three wins from the first five matches equals their total number of wins in all of last season.
It was the first time they scored back-to-back wins since 2006 and the 50 points is their second highest score since they beat the Auckland Blues 51-13 in 1996 -- the first year of Super rugby.
Captain Will Genia puts the renewed confidence down to a change of attitude that has come with regular success.
"We took a lot of confidence from last week having won that tight contest and come from behind and showed a lot of character. I think the big difference is attitude. We're starting to really play for each other and it's showing."
The Reds were in devastating form from the kick-off against the Force, with Faingaa's first try in the eighth minute. When he touched down again just before halftime they led 36-3 with the bonus point already in the bag.
Morahan scored the second try when flanker Daniel Braid opened up the Force backline and the ball travelled through five sets of hands before the flying winger finished off the movement.
Ioane's brace were both inspired by Cooper who set up the first with a deft cross kick and engineered the second when he wrong-footed the Force defence with an inside pass to Ioane.
The Force compounded the magnitude of the loss with a string of errors across the board including missed tackles, misdirected passes, and lost ball at their own rucks and lineouts.
Their brief moment of superiority came early in the second half when Peter Hynes was yellow-carded and the Force cashed in on the one-man advantage by sending Cummins across in the corner.
But it was a short-lived comeback as the Reds responded with two tries to Higgenbotham.
The Reds now have a week off before starting their South Africa campaign while the Force return home to face the Waratahs next week.
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