Then something happened. I’m not sure if it was a coaching issue, or if all the exciting rugby players moved to Canberra and Sydney, whatever it was, they became, without question, the most boring side to watch in world rugby. Slowly but surely they moved down the log until they found themselves in the company of the perennially useless South African felines franchises, the Highlanders, who faced a similar fate, and the Western Force, who nobody really expects much of anyway.
The Reds and Sharks played in what is unanimously considered the worst rugby game to watch of all time. The score was 6 to 3, or 3 to 6, I forget who won.
In 2009 they finished near the bottom of the log, 13th out of 14 and then sacked their coach as most teams would.
Things did indeed look grim, but then quite inexplicably in 2010, they started winning. Quade Cooper and Will Genia ignited a sleeping giant of a backline. Under the coaching of Ewen McKenzie they carved a swathe of destruction through the competition and looked set to make the semi-finals, only to be let down in the final straight by injuries and inconsistency. Still they finished fifth, ahead of teams like the Auckland Blues and the ACT Brumbies, something they could never have done prior.
They’ll be looking to go one further in 2011 and will once again look to the fulcrum of Genia and Cooper to ignite the exciting style of play that mesmerised us all in 2010. They are supported at the back by more Wallabies in Will Chambers, Ant Faingaa, Rod Davies and Digby Ioane, all in all a pretty impressive prospect.
Up Front they are lead by Captain James Horwill. He and fellow Wallabies Scott Higganbotham, Guy Shepardson and Saia Faingaa will lead the pack in 2011, ably supported by Radike Samo and Ed Quirk amongst others.
The Reds are one of the teams to watch in 2011 and they’ll be hoping to go that one step further in 2011 and crack the big semi-final. Their pre-season hasn't been the easiest however. Their stadium, along with much of their city and state have been lashed by violent floods in the last month. The Reds organisation has been one of many that have pulled together to help the people of Queensland recover, and i'm sure the team, players and fans are tired of being damp, and are ready to show just what they're capable of.
The Author: Ryan Quirk http://blogs.sport24.co.za/RyanQ
