Reds survive Mataele hat-trick to beat Drua 45-24 but lose Paisami to knee injury

Hunter Paisami is facing a potential absence from Queensland’s Super Rugby Pacific finals campaign after injuring his left knee in the Reds’ 45-24 win over Fijian Drua at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Friday night.

Paisami, 28, was tackled to the ground and limped off in the 28th minute with his knee heavily strapped. He watched the remainder of the match from the bench wearing a large knee brace, with scans required to determine the extent of the damage. “I haven’t got the full story at this stage,” Reds coach Les Kiss said. “Obviously concerned if he isn’t going to be all right. Hopefully Hunter’s OK.”

The match itself was a rollercoaster. Queensland built a commanding 21-5 lead through tries to hooker Matt Faessler, Filipo Daugunu — set up by a sharp falling pass from Josh Flook — and Flook himself, who finished off a move Daugunu had started. Fijian winger Manasa Mataele had opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a 60-metre intercept try off a Carter Gordon pass, but the Reds appeared firmly in control at the break.

The second half told a different story, at least initially. Mataele added two tries in four extraordinary minutes to complete his hat-trick and give the Drua the lead. His second came from collecting his own dribble, and his third arrived in the 48th minute when he leapt to claim a bouncing kick from Virimi Vakatawa before racing to the line. “It’s pretty special, but I would trade that for a win any time,” Mataele said afterwards.

Queensland’s response was built on set-piece dominance. Harry Wilson crossed in the 55th minute from a powerful scrum, and Faessler claimed his second try four minutes later off a dominant rolling maul from a line-out. Seru Uru and Richie Asiata added further scores to seal the bonus-point victory and put the final margin beyond doubt.

The win moved Queensland’s regular-season record to 8-6 and their points tally to 37, but their hopes of finishing fourth were already gone before kick-off. Earlier on Friday, the Crusaders had beaten the ladder-leading Hurricanes 47-14, leaving the Reds likely to finish sixth — provided the Brumbies, on 33 points, defeat last-placed Moana Pasifika in Canberra on Saturday.

For the Drua, the defeat leaves them at 5-9 for the season, but Mataele’s performance offered a rare individual highlight in what has been a difficult campaign.