Reds survive red card to sink Waratahs

Despite being down to 13 men at one stage, the Reds were still too good for the Waratahs as they claimed a 32-20 win at Suncorp Stadium in Super Rugby Pacific.

The Reds were a hit with a red card and then a yellow in quick succession late in the first half but managed to shrug off both setbacks to outplay their Australian rivals.

The visitors kicked things off with a bang when Alex Newsome and Mark Nawaqanitawase made two sublime passes to unlock the Reds' defence and allow Jack Grant to score in the corner. Will Harrison made the conversion to make it 7-0 to the Tahs.

James O'Connor missed a penalty in the 22nd minute but knocked one over two minutes later to claw three points back for the Reds.

Then a beautiful 50/22 kick by the flyhalf set up an attacking lineout for the home side, with the resulting rolling maul driving Tate McDermott over the line. O'Connor successfully converted to make it 10-7.

Then disaster struck for the home side around the half-hour mark when Dane Zander was dismissed for a high tackle, leaving them to play with just 14 men for 20 minutes. Harrison kicked the resulting penalty to level the scores.

O'Connor restored the three-point gap with another penalty kick in the 38th minute before the Reds were reduced to 13 men as McDermott was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knockdown just before halftime.

After the break, a Tane Edmed penalty restored parity for the Waratahs before Taniela Tupou bashed his way over the line in the 54th minute to put the Reds back in front. O'Connor's conversion was accurate as the home side moved into a 20-13 lead.

The Reds remained on the front foot, opting to kick for the corner instead of taking an easily kickable penalty in the 66th minute.

They were rewarded as