KEY POINTS:
Reds 25 Hurricanes 16
BRISBANE - Eddie Jones celebrated his first Super 14 game in charge of Queensland with a rugged upset win over the Hurricanes at Suncorp Stadium last night.
The former Wallabies coach masterminded the Reds first opening round win in six years with his young aggressive pack pick-and-driving over the top of last season's finalists.
The talented Queensland forwards ripped in from the kick-off to burrow their way through a Hurricanes pack missing five rested All Blacks and frustrated by the trench warfare. The final score was 25-16.
Young playmaker Berrick Barnes, who engineered a 27th minute try to Mitchell Chapman, provided the direction in classy touches while league recruit Clinton Schifcofske kicked them home.
The former Canberra Raiders skipper enjoyed a 20-point debut, kicking six from eight with the boot, and showing a customary cool head at fullback.
Barnes virtually sealed the win with 16 minutes left when he coolly nailed a 40m drop goal to give the home side a 25-9 lead in front of 22,654 appreciative fans.
While there was little to be entertained by in the tight, abrasive play, the Brisbane crowd was delighted to see an early win.
It also allowed veteran centre Ben Tune, who showed his class with his few limited touches, and hooker Sean Hardman to uncork hearty celebrations for their 100th games for their state.
The Reds weren't thrown off their rugged plans despite the game going to uncontested scrums in the 44th minute when Tim Fairbrother (wrist) became the second Hurricanes prop to fall to injury.
Lock Hugh McMeniman revelled in the ugly yet effective play, pulling off a number of huge hits in defence and bashing his way over the gain line in attack.
"It's a very special win," said Barnes.
"The forwards were a big part of it tonight. They laid the platform and Clinton kicked bloody well too."
It took just five minutes for Schifcofske to show why Jones chased him so hard last year, kicking two penalty goals to give the Reds an early 6-0 buffer.
The former Queensland State of Origin player also brought the parochial crowd to their collective feet with a break from a superb inside ball by Barnes.
Jimmy Gopperth hit back with a penalty of his own after a high shot by David Croft on halfback Chris Smylie that saw tempers fray in the Reds quarter.
Milestone man Ben Tune and young general Barnes brought the game to life in the 27th minute when the five-eighth broke the line and handed off for Tune who was pulled down 5m out by Cory Jane.
Quick recycling then allowed Barnes to catch the defence out with a cross-field kick aimed at the left corner where flanker Mitchell Chapman took a fine overhead take to score.
Lock James Horwill paid the price for a string of breakdown infringements when he was sin-binned late in the first half, while Chapman got his marching orders in the dying minutes before fullback Jane gave a late scare with a classy 74th minute try.
"We gave away too many penalties and they made us pay," said Hurricanes lock Paul Tito.
In one downer for Queensland, under-rated centre Andrew Brown suffered a suspected punctured lung and faces a long stint on the sidelines.
The Hurricanes have skipper Conrad Smith (facial gash) in doubt for their round two clash against the Chiefs while Schwalger (neck) and Fairbrother (shoulder) are also in doubt.
Jones was pleased with the performance but wasn't getting carried away, stressing the importance of following up with a rare win in New Zealand next weekend against the Crusaders.
"It's a start for us. I'm not getting too excited about it but it's good to get a win," he said.
Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper said his side wasn't allowed to play to its plan of testing the depleted Reds backline out wide.
"Their forward pack played pretty well and their defence was very good and put us under a lot of pressure and we spilt a lot of ball," he said.
- AAP
