Western Force defeated Queensland in Super Rugby finals, with a 40-26 victory on Friday night at Lang Park.
The Reds needed a win to stay alive in the race for the Australian conference, but the Force overran them with 17 unanswered points in the second half.
A late yellow card to winger Eto Nabuli — who made needless high contact with Force five-eighth Peter Grant, as he collected a high ball with less than 15 minutes to go — cruelled any chance of a Queensland comeback.
Test hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau came off the bench to seal it for the Force with his 70th-minute try, while Grant’s fourth penalty of the night was the final nail in the coffin.
Grant didn’t miss a kick all night and contributed 18 points off his own boot, with the Force leapfrogging the Reds in the Australian conference.
Nabuli’s sin-binning came shortly after Marcel Brache scored to put the Force back in front 30-26.
It was the second yellow card of the night for the Reds, taking their season tally to 12 — more than any other team in Super Rugby.
Half-back Nick Frisby was shown the first yellow in the 44th minute and conceded a penalty try for kicking the ball out of Michael Ruru’s hands as he leapt over a ruck to plant down.
It will be a sore point for Reds coach Nick Stiles, who had brought in referees to training during the week in an attempt to stamp out the root causes of their costly ill-discipline.
Wallabies skipper Stephen Moore tried to drag the Reds back into it with a second-half double but he could not inspire his team-mates in front of just 12,040 fans.
Source: ABC