Last season's wooden spooners Queensland Reds weathered a second-half fightback to cling on to a 22-16 Super 14 rugby victory over New Zealand's Otago Highlanders yesterday.
The Reds opened their season with a determined win after playing their best rugby in the first half to lead 12-3 at half-time.
But the inexperienced Highlanders, fielding seven Super 14 debutants in their 22-man squad, clawed back and trailed 19-16 inside the final five minutes.
It was an 80th-minute penalty goal from Clinton Schifcofske which sealed the victory for the battling Australian team.
Queensland were good value for their half-time lead, with tries to skipper John Roe and Schifcofske but the Highlanders dominated large periods of the second half.
Otago lost prop Jamie Mackintosh with a yellow card for using a swinging arm in a tackle midway through the second half, leaving his team a man down for 10 minutes.
The Reds were the beneficiaries of two dubious tries awarded by referee Marius Jonker, after adjudication from the television match official, even though television replays could not prove whether the ball was grounded over the try-line.
Roe scored his second try midway through the second half beneath a pile of bodies but there was no visible evidence that he had reached the try-line.
The Highlanders gave their supporters hope of a win against the odds when Adam Thomson capitalized on a wayward lineout throw from Sean Hardman and ploughed over for Otago's sole try.
But that was as close as the Highlanders got as the Reds played for territory and were rewarded with Schifcofske's penalty goal on the final siren.
Meanwhile in Christchurch, New Zealand, the Canterbury Crusaders moved straight into top gear as they started the new Super 14 season with a convincing 34-3 win over the ACT Brumbies at AMI Stadium yesterday.
The four-try effort ensured maximum points for the perennial favorites, who have won the championship six times.
Although rain and slippery conditions contributed to handling errors and a lack of fluidity in the first half, the Richie McCaw-led Crusaders clicked into their clinical best as the game wore on.
They led 10-3 at half-time and piled on 24 unanswered points after the turn.
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