Heartbreak sours historic debut: Four things learnt from Reds’ defeat

But it was not to be – their 31-20 lead quickly eradicated as Blues No.8 Hoskins Sotutu continued his magnificent 2024 campaign – scoring a try and running for 125m in a colossal display.

“We’re devastated, we put ourselves in the driver’s seat come back from an early deficit, stuck to our game plan which paid a bit of dividends, so we’re just gutted,” Reds captain Liam Wright said.

“I thought our boys really left it all out there – they played hard for each other and hard for the jersey. You don’t have to mention Timmy Ryan, he was excellent tonight, he was just the epitome of what this squad is about – just stepping up to the job and going above and beyond.

“It’s a tough one to take, but we’ll regather. ”

Paisami cannot be ignored

Hunter Paisami’s evolution hit another gear against Super Rugby’s most daunting rivals, demonstrating the sort of form that should surely elevate him back into the Wallabies fold.

The 26-year-old was in the thick of everything for the Reds, playing a major hand in two tries to give his side a shock lead in the second half.

First it was a bulldozing run in which he shrugged off a defender with ease and burst into the clear, finding Ryan out wide only for the winger to be pulled down just short.

Queensland would eventually strike from that field position shortly after through Suliasi Vunivalu at the back of the ruck, before the biggest transformation of Paisami’s game was shown moments later.

Deep inside his own half, the inside centre chipped for himself and in one swift motion regathered and found Ryan out wide again.

Paisami had earlier looked to impose his boot on the contest, kicking across field for open space only for the ball to just beat his winger into touch.

But for the fact he made every touch of the ball count, and looked