REDS RUGBY

Experienced QR Reds lock Van Humphries has pinpointed the challenge of countering the lineout mastery of Bulls captain Victor Matfield as crucial to the Reds chances of celebrating their return to Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night (kickoff 7:30pm) with a win.

The Reds lineout functioned reasonably well for most of their recent three game tour of South Africa , where they grabbed 11 competition points and two wins to sit in fifth place on the Investec Bank Super 14 ladder, but they face a daunting challenge in Matfield, the 92 test-cap Springboks lineout general.

“He has been (the best lock) going round for some time. He has seen pretty much everything there’s to see,” Humphries said.

“From what I gather he is very analytical. He studies the opposition lineout and looks for keys. That’s something we are going to try to turn around on him this weekend.

“But we’ve been running pretty well in regard to lineouts so far and we won’t be looking to change too much. We will just concentrate on our own game and try to throw a few things at him he hasn’t seen.
“For myself, it will be a bit of a test this weekend but it’s something I’m looking forward to.”

The Bulls have been the benchmark team this season and Humphries puts that down to their ability to adjust better than most to the new law interpretations at the breakdown, their experienced forward pack, and the ability for flyhalf Morne Steyn to punish any opposition ill-discipline with his goal kicking boot.

“I think they are a different team to the one two years ago. They are a complete side and it’s very hard to shut down what they do,” Humphries said.

“We have to deprive them of the ball because with ball in hand they are a very dominant team. With the rules the way they are with penalties going with the attacking team, they can kick goals from 50 metres out.

“I think we will stick to the plan we have used the past couple of weeks and muscle up through the forwards and let our backs do the rest.”

Flanker Scott Higginbotham also singled out the Bulls’ tight-five as their biggest obstacle.

“We just need to match them up-front, which we didn’t do against the Sharks,” said Higginbotham, referring to the Reds’ inability to match the Sharks’ physicality at the breakdown a fortnight ago in their 30-28 loss.

“They (Bulls) have a giant pack: scrums, lineouts and rucks are going to be tough. They are a lot more gelled than the Lions or Cheetahs.”

After a month long tour in South Africa , Humphries said he hoped fans would turn out in force to support the Reds as they head into the final third of the competition.

“When we are showing glimpses of form recently fans have responded and we really hope they do so this weekend. You don’t get a much better spectacle than playing the Bulls at home in Brisbane ,” Humphries said.

Tickets for the Bulls match are on sale through Ticketek.

Meanwhile, the Reds are looking to recruit the loudest and proudest fans they can muster to get behind the team this Saturday at Suncorp Stadium.

The first 200 fans to sign up for the official QR Reds cheer squad at Ballymore from 4pm today (Wednesday) will receive a free ticket, shirt and bandana for the Bulls game.