Rod Macqueen Cup

The Rod Macqueen Cup is a rugby union trophy contested biannually in Super Rugby between the ACT Brumbies and the Queensland Reds. The Rod Macqueen Cup was introduced in 2005 to celebrate Rod Macqueen, the first Brumbies head coach.[1]

Rod Macqueen Cup
Given forWinning the biannual ACT Brumbies versus Queensland Reds match.
CountryAustralia
Presented byRugby Australia
History
First award2005
Most recentACT Brumbies

Rod Macqueen

End of the Amateur Era

One of Macqueen's first major coaching positions was at the NSW Waratahs, from 1991 to 1992. In 1992, 1994, and 1995, he was also a selector for the Wallabies, the Australian national team.

ACT Brumbies

Rod Macqueen was the first head coach of the ACT Brumbies in 1996. He led them to the 4th best win-loss record in the competition that year, only missing out on a finals berth due to the Natal Sharks winning a superior number of bonus points. The ACT Brumbies were one of only two teams to beat the Queensland Reds in the regular season. Macqueen's 1996 Brumbies were the only team to beat Queensland, Natal, and the Auckland Blues.

In 1997, Macqueen led the ACT Brumbies to the Grand Final against the Auckland Blues. Joe Roff scored all the Brumbies' points in a 23–7 defeat.

Wallabies Head Coach

Macqueen was appointed the head coach of the Wallabies in September 1997, and would coach them until 2001. He led the Wallabies to victory at the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales, where they defeated France in the final, becoming the first nation to ever win the Rugby World Cup twice. The following year Australia won the Tri Nations Series for the first time.

Macqueen retired from the game after guiding the Wallabies to a victory over the highly rated 2001 Lions side captained by Martin Johnson. He finished his career as the Australian coach with a test match winning record of just below 80%.[2] His achievements with the Wallabies led many people to believe that he is one of the talented coaches in the professional era.

Macqueen received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000.[3] was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2001.[4] and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2003.[5] In 2004 he was awarded the Joe French Award, which recognizes outstanding service to the Australian Rugby Union. Macqueen was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame in October 2011, alongside all other Rugby World Cup-winning head coaches and captains through the 2007 edition.[6]

History of the Rivalry

Super 12 to Super 14

The Brumbies and the Reds pack down toe scrum at GIO Stadium, 31 January 2020

Despite producing many talented Wallabies in the first fifteen years of professionalism, such as Jason Little, Chris Latham, Toutai Kefu, Tim Horan, Daniel Herbert, Michael Foley, Elton Flatley, John Eales, Dan Crowley, John Roe, Ben Tune, and David Wilson, the Queensland Reds only defeated the ACT Brumbies once in the first fifteen years of their rivalry, with an 19-18 victory at Ballymore Stadium in 1999. Queensland's 1999 win was enough to give them a top-of-the-table finish in 1999, and prevented the ACT Brumbies from reaching the playoffs.

The most significant clash in the early rivalry between these teams was the 2001 Semi Final. This was Queensland's last playoff appearance for a decade.

19 May 2001
19:40 (UTC+10)
ACT Brumbies 30-6 Queensland Reds
Try: Stirling Mortlock  39'
Owen Finegan  50'
Jeremy Paul  78'
Con: Andrew Walker  39', 50', 78' (3/3)
Pen: Andrew Walker  60', 68' (2/2)
Drop: Stephen Larkham  80' (1/1)
Report Pen: Elton Flatley  10' (1/1)
Shane Drahm  37' (1/1)
Bruce Stadium, Canberra
Attendance: 25,273
Referee: Paddy O'Brien

The Rod Macqueen Cup was introduced in 2005 to celebrate Rod Macqueen.[7] The ACT Brumbies were the first to win the Rod Macqueen Cup, and proceeded to retain it all through Super 14.

The end of Super 14 and the start of the Conference System (2010-2013)

The four years that Ewen McKenzie, who played for the Brumbies in Super 12, was coach of the Reds was the high water mark of the rivalry. In 2010, 2012, and 2013, the Rod Macqueen Cup games decided whether either the Brumbies or the Reds made the playoff. In 2010, the Rod Macqueen Cup game was the difference between the Reds finishing 4th (in the playoffs) and 5th (not in the playoffs). In 2012 and 2013, if the losing team had won just one of the Rod Macqueen Cup games, they would have won the conference ahead of the other.

In 2011, the Queensland Reds won their second game against the Brumbies. Despite scoring four tries, the Brumbies were only able to convert one, while Quade Cooper kicked seven penalty goals, a drop goal, and converted the Reds' only try for an individual haul of 26 points, enough to beat the Brumbies on his own, and more points in a game than any Brumby has ever scored.[8]

5 March 2011
19:40 (UTC+11)
Brumbies 25-31 Reds
Try: Stephen Moore  18'
Pat McCabe  30'
Ita Vaea  42'
Ben Alexander  74'
Con: Matt Giteau  18' (1/4)
Pen: Matt Giteau  37' (1/1)
Report Try: Scott Higginbotham  12'
Con: Quade Cooper  12' (1/1)
Pen: Quade Cooper  2', 23', 29', 38', 52', 55', 69' (7/9)
Drop: Quade Cooper  34' (1/1)
Bruce Stadium, Canberra
Attendance: 16,027
Referee: Mark Lawrence

However, the Reds were unable to win the Rod Macqueen Cup in 2011, as the Brumbies won a famous underdog victory in the return game. The Brumbies were in the middle of their worst season, while the Reds would win the 2011 Super Rugby Final, and yet the Brumbies played one of the best defensive performances of the season to continually frustrate the Reds and prevent them from playing their game.[9]

The game ended in controversy when the Brumbies won a penalty after the siren. Brumbies captain Matt Giteau chose to attempt the penalty goal, while Stephen Moore, a former Queensland Red, told Giteau to kick it out so the Reds could have the losing bonus point for finishing within seven points. Giteau was clearly heard on the broadcast telling Moore "f**k off, I'm the captain.", which many fans consider to be illustrative of both men's captaincies: Giteau the authoritarian, Moore too nice to his opposition.[10]

4 June 2011
19:40 (UTC+10)
Reds 14-22 Brumbies
Try: Ben Lucas  36'
Con: Quade Cooper (0/1)
Pen: Quade Cooper  5', 9', 56' (3/4)
Report Try: Stephen Moore  19'
Con: Matt Giteau  19' (1/1)
Pen: Matt Giteau  2', 7', 18', 31', 82' (5/5)
Drop: Matt Giteau (0/2)
Bruce Stadium, Canberra
Attendance: 27,374
Referee: Garratt Williamson

The Reds won the Rod Macqueen Cup for the first time in 2012, beating the Brumbies in Canberra and in Brisbane to win as many games against the Brumbies in one year as they had in their entire history. However, the Brumbies won it back with a win and a draw in 2013. The draw in 2013 was played in front of the largest crowd to ever watch a Rod Macqueen Cup game, a testament to the status of the rivalry at that time. The captains and coaches (Ben Mowen and Jake White for the Brumbies, and James Horwill and Ewen McKenzie for the Reds) all considered Rod Macqueen Cup games of 2010–2013 to be of a test standard.[11]

Era of Home Ground Advantage

The Brumbies have retained the Rod Macqueen Cup since 2013. However, unlike the early years of Super Rugby, the fixture is now regularly won by the home team, with neither of the teams winning away from home since 2015.

In 2020, the Reds began to threaten for the top spot in Australian rugby. Despite losing five of their seven games before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Reds were incredibly competitive against the Brumbies, the Crusaders, and the Sharks, who were all considered favourites to win their own conference and to make the final. Commentators and pundits pointed to the four 2020 Brumbies-Reds games as "[improving] the standard of Australian Rugby",[12] with a sense of excitement due to "both teams [having] a great chance of winning it" each time.[13]

The Reds delivered on their potential in the Australian resumption of Super Rugby, only losing two of their eight games and reaching the final against the Brumbies.

19 September 2020
19:15 (UTC+10)
Brumbies 28-23 Reds
Try: Fainga'a  17'
Muirhead  26'
Banks  45'
Con: Lolesio  18', 47' (2/3)
Pen: Lolesio  5', 55' (2/3)
Drop: Lolesio  49'
Report Try: Wilson  31'
Blyth  64'
Con: O'Connor  32', 65'
Pen: O'Connor  13', 40+2', 59' (3/3)
GIO Stadium, Canberra
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Angus Gardner

Competitive recruitment

Since Super 14, several players have had successful periods playing for both clubs, including:

Notable players to play for both the Brumbies and the Reds
Player Brumbies Years Brumbies Caps Reds Years Reds Caps
Radike Samo2000-2006352010-201333
Ben Mowen2012-20145120061
James Slipper2019–Present182010-2018105
Stephen Moore2009-20161172003–2008, 201759
Julian Huxley2002, 2007-2010282003–200631
George Smith1999–2010, 20131422017-201822
Andrew Walker2000-2003472007-200821
Sam Cordingley199871999-2001, 2006-200858
Adam Wallace-Harrison2003–2008372011-201330
Scott Fava2002-2006511999-20015
Gene Fairbanks2005-2009372003-20041
Saia Fainga'a2006–2008, 2017302009-201699
Anthony Fainga'a2006–2008, 201742009-201690
JP Smith2014-2015242018–Present28
Ruan Smith2013-2016512018-201927
Tom McVerry201462003-200755
Jarrad Butler2014-2017602012-201312
Aidan Toua2015–2016302009–2014, 2018-201924
Tom Banks2017–Present442015-20162

As of 30 January 2020.
Players in bold are still playing for one of the two teams.

Rod Macqueen Cup Results

Brumbies Win Reds Win Draw
SeasonScoreWinnerVenueAttendance
2005 Game 1 38 – 21 ACT Brumbies Suncorp Stadium 28,233
2006 Game 1 36 – 0 ACT Brumbies Canberra Stadium 17,041
2007 Game 1 6 – 3 ACT Brumbies Suncorp Stadium 25,170
2008 Game 1 43 – 11 ACT Brumbies Canberra Stadium 15,244
2009 Game 1 52 – 13 ACT Brumbies Suncorp Stadium 19,346
2010 Game 1 32 – 12 ACT Brumbies Canberra Stadium 18,023
2011 Game 1 31 – 25 Queensland Reds Canberra Stadium 16,027
2011 Game 2 22 – 14 ACT Brumbies Suncorp Stadium 27,374
2012 Game 1 20 – 13 Queensland Reds Suncorp Stadium 31,479
2012 Game 2 13 – 12 Queensland Reds Canberra Stadium 16,123
2013 Game 1 24 – 6 ACT Brumbies Canberra Stadium 17,058
2013 Game 2 19 – 19 Draw Suncorp Stadium 38,404
2014 Game 1 27 – 17 Queensland Reds Canberra Stadium 13,670
2014 Game 2 23 – 20 ACT Brumbies Suncorp Stadium 30,004
2015 Game 1 47 – 3 ACT Brumbies Canberra Stadium 13,570
2015 Game 2 29 – 0 ACT Brumbies Suncorp Stadium 22,537
2016 Game 1 43 – 24 ACT Brumbies Canberra Stadium 9,830
2017 Game 1 43 – 10 ACT Brumbies Canberra Stadium 11,466
2017 Game 2 16 – 15 Queensland Reds Suncorp Stadium 13,264
2018 Game 1 18 – 10 Queensland Reds Suncorp Stadium 11,034
2018 Game 2 45 – 21 ACT Brumbies Canberra Stadium 7,598
2019 Game 1 36 – 14 Queensland Reds Suncorp Stadium 13,566
2019 Game 2 40 – 27 ACT Brumbies Canberra Stadium 9,751
2020 Game 1 27 – 24 ACT Brumbies Canberra Stadium 7,436
2020 Game 2 22 – 20 ACT Brumbies Canberra Stadium 3,000
2020 Game 3 26 – 7 Queensland Reds Suncorp Stadium 9,922
2020 Super Rugby AU Final 28 – 23 ACT Brumbies Canberra Stadium 6,000

References

  1. "The Rod Macqueen Cup the only silverware to elude the Queensland Reds". Courier Mail. Courier Mail. 24 May 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. Archived 2 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Macqueen, Roderick Ian: Australian Sports Medal". It's an Honour. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  4. "Rod Macqueen". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  5. "Macqueen, Roderick Ian, AM". It's an Honour. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  6. "RWC legends inducted into IRB Hall of Fame" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 26 October 2011. Archived from the original on 27 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  7. Tucker, Jim (25 May 2012). "The Rod Macqueen Cup the only silverware to elude the Queensland Reds". Courier Mail. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  8. "Reds beat Brumbies to end Canberra Drought". SuperXV. 5 March 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  9. "Brumbies shock Reds and open up finals race". SuperXV. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  10. Dutton, Chris (6 June 2011). "Moore and Giteau say Reds blow-up was really just a lovers' tiff". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  11. "Brumbies resist Reds surge for draw". ESPN. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  12. Lenthall, Steve (31 January 2020). "Brumbies hold on for close win over the Reds". Green and Gold Rugby. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  13. Marczyk, Ben (3 September 2020). "Reds V Brumbies Preview- Top of the Table Clash". Green and Gold Rugby. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
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