Blues left in the dark
The Queensland Reds lit up Albany and rocked the Blues' Super 14 semi-final hopes with a 31-24 victory at the North Harbour Stadium.
Last Updated: 25/04/09 11:07am
The Queensland Reds lit up Albany and rocked the Blues' Super 14 semi-final hopes with a 31-24 victory at the North Harbour Stadium.
However it was a 50-minute stoppage due to floodlight failure that marred the fixture.
The lights went out four minutes into the match and the frustrated players and supporters were forced to wait patiently before play finally resumed.
The horrific weather conditions were wreaking havoc, however it was the craft and skill of Reds inside centre Berrick Barnes which caused the most damage.
The 22-year-old picked up a 16-point haul and was one of four try-scorers for the Australian visitors.
Command
He crossed after 28 minutes following a break from Mark McLinden, and when James Horwill dived over two minutes before half-time, the Reds looked to be taking a healthy 17-0 lead into the interval.
The Blues, however, hit back on the first-half whistle when Isaia Toeava took the ball in the middle and powered through to get the New Zealanders on the board.
Centre Digby Ioane strolled under the posts seven minutes after the restart - Barnes' conversion putting the Reds firmly in command.
Two minutes later, Quade Cooper and Anthony Faingaa combined to slice through some woeful Blues tackling and the latter touched down to all but seal the contest at 31-5.
The Blues fought back and heavy pressure yielded a try for Peter Saili which Jimmy Gopperth converted and just five minutes later Kurtis Haiu plunged over for a close-range try.
And, on the stroke of full time, Blues snatched a bonus point when Gopperth converted his late score.
