The reeling Queensland Reds held an “honesty session” on Monday in a bid to salvage pride after a disastrous start to the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition.
The toast of Australian rugby earlier this month after winning the Super Rugby AU title, the Reds have conceded 103 points in their past two matches against superior New Zealand opposition.
Their 63-28 home loss to the Crusaders was particularly embarrassing in the battle between the champions of Australian and New Zealand rugby.
With their hopes of making the final the five-round competition all but gone, the Reds are playing for pride in their remaining Super Rugby Trans-Tasman matches, starting with Saturday night’s battle against the Chiefs in Townsville.
“We’re not going to make excuses – that was a pretty poor performance by us on the weekend,” Reds flanker Angus Scott-Young said.
“It shows the highs and lows of footy. Two weeks ago we were winning the Aussie championship, (and then to) come up against the Crusaders and put a performance like that out on the field we’re not happy with … respect where it’s due, we played poor and they played awesome.”
The Reds aren’t hiding from their shortcomings, with some home truths delivered among the squad at Monday’s “honesty session”.
“We’ll all sit down in team room together, we’ll watch a bit of tape, and we’ll find out what didn’t go right and what might have gone right … just be honest with our performances. That’s the only real way you can become accountable,” Scott-Young said.
“There’s still a lot to salvage from this tournament. To become a world-class team which is where we want to go, you have to play against the best and compete with the best.
“It was a good test for us on the weekend, a bit of a litmus test, and we didn’t pass, so that’s a reality check and we’ll grow from that.”