What a difference a week makes. Just six days after being pipped at the post by their southern nemesis, the Waratahs, which was a draining encounter the Queensland Reds repaid those faithful supporters backing up amongst the 17,880 spectators at Suncorp Stadium by demolishing a Dan Carter inspired Crusaders 41~20.

Quade Cooper was the man on everyone’s lips, for all the right reasons, as he carved up with a personal tally of 31 -a Queensland record in Super rugby. Curtailing his “bunny-hop” style, to only a brief half-one that I witnessed during the match, instead using superb pass and run variations. Cooper's sneaky inside pass, in the first half, to Morgan Turinui led to a skilful passage which resulted in Peter Hynes slipping a pass back infield to the initiator to go over for the first of his two tries.

Initially trading penalty kicks blow for blow with Dan Carter, Cooper and the Reds started to dominate proceedings and unlike previous seasons managed to keep the foot on the pedal right to the very end. In the second stanza wingers Rod Davis & Digby Ioane scored classy tries with the final coup-de-gras being Cooper’s intercept providing the team a bonus point try. Ironically ex-Brisbane Broncos player, Brad Thorn, as he has done many a time on this paddock, crossed the white paint to lift the Canterbury side’s pitiful score line to 20 after Dan Carter’s successful conversion.

Reds coach, Ewen McKenzie was a little less exuberant in the post match interview. “The reality is that we’ve won one match. We’re around about where we’d like to be in terms of being competitive but I don’t expect anyone to get too enthusiastic. It’s going to get harder now. The more you get people talking about you, the more you get people looking at you, the more time people put in working out ways to beat you”.

Despite the negative commentary, particularly coming out of the South African republic over the last decade about the Red’s woes, the supporters know that they were never far off the pace in the most competitive provincial rugby competition in the world. Next week, in the return to Ballymore clash, the Reds season does not get any easier with the Auckland Blues trying to avenge a 31~24 loss last season at home in New Zealand. Once again the Reds will be under-siege by a third top side in as many weeks and will not be allowed to switch off for even a minute as the 2010 Super 14 season progresses to the third round.

CJ