The Queensland Reds kept their hopes alive for a place in the semi-finals of the Super 12 series when they scored a nail-biting 20-16 victory over the Golden Cats at the Ellis Park stadium, Johannesburg, yesterday.
It took the Reds 71 minutes to take the lead in this bruising encounter and in the end their brilliant defence made the difference.
The Queensland fans must have been sombre at half-time with their side trailing 16-5, but with players like Tim Horan, Ben Tune, Jason Little, John Eales and David Wilson, anything is possible.
After half-time the Reds began to operate with renewed confidence, with replacement fly-half Shane Drahm dictating terms with his educated boot and silky running skills.
They ran in two more tries after Ben Tune scored in the first half, while the Cats failed to add more points.
For the Cats it was their best performance of the season. They never laid down and almost scored the winning try when they camped on the tryline of the Reds in the last five minutes of the game.