Match Centre: Reds 26-19 Force

Reds 26-19 Force, Suncorp Stadium
Scorecard

Jock Campbell scored a 67th minute try as Queensland Reds managed to overcome Western Force 26-19 in the fifth round of Super Rugby AU at Suncorp Stadium.

This is Reds' fourth win from as many games as they continue to remain at the top of the table with 18 points while Force are at the fourth place after losing their third in four matches.

It took Reds just nine minutes to score the opening try as they opted for a scrum following a penalty and Tate McDermott got in the gap to dot down and James O'Connor kicked the conversion to make it 7-0.

Force brought the arrears down to four points after Jake McIntyre kicked a penalty goal but Force stretched their lead further with this time Jock Campbell stormed into the 22 setting up Hunter Paisami over the line and once again O'Connor got the conversion right making it 14-3.

The visitors bounced back hard as Sitaleki Timani dotted down and McIntyre followed with the extras as an eventful opening quarter came to an end with a 14-10 scoreline before McIntyre slotted another three-pointer at the stroke of half-time to make it 14-13.

Reds missed an early opportunity in the second half as a poor pass from Angus Blyth saw them miss a certain try and minutes later they thought they had the breakthrough through Fraser McReight but was turned down by the TMO.

The visitors took the lead for the first time in the game when McIntyre slotted the three-pointer in the 50th minute but it was short-lived as Paisami following a quick turnover at the ruck, collected a pass from midfield to dot down.

The scores were levelled by the 55th minute as an infringement from Lukhan Salakaia-Loto saw McIntyre kicked his fourth penalty making the scoreline 19-19. The decisive moment in the game came in the 67th minute when Suliasi Vunivalu created the opening as he brushed away a tackle from Jack McGregor to send Campbell over and O'Connor improved as Reds completed a thrilling seven point win to maintain their winning streak.

Team line-up:

Reds:15 Jock Campbell, 14 Suliasi Vunivalu, 13 Jordan Petaia, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Ilaisa Droasese, 10 James O'Connor, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Angus Scott-Young, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Angus Blyth, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Alex Mafi, 1 Dane Zander

Reserves: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Harry Hoopert, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Ryan Smith, 20 Seru Uru, 21 Kalani Thomas, 22 Hamish Stewart, 23 Bryce Hegarty

Western Force: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Byron Ralston, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Henry Taefu, 11 Richard Kahui, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Brynard Stander, 7 Kane Koteka, 6 Fergus Lee-Warner, 5 Sitaleki Timani, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Feleti Kaitu'u, 1 Tom Robertson

Reserves: 16 Jack Winchester, 17 Angus Wagner, 18 Santiago Medrabi, 19 Ryan McCauley, 20 Tim Anstee, 21 Ian Prior, 22 Jack McGregor, 23 Marcel Brache