Quade Cooper weighed in with 22 points on his return to action as the Reds claimed a 32-10 victory over Super Rugby bottom side the Western Force at the Perth Oval yesterday.
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The 27-year-old fly-half, who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury for the past two months, scored a try in each half along with team-mate Lachie Turner, with the former also on target with three conversions and two further penalties.
Sias Ebersohn scored a three-pointer to get the ball rolling for the hosts – before Cooper struck back – and converted Dane Haylett-Petty’s first-half try but the Force had no answer in the second half as their opponents ran away with the bonus-point win.
The Reds will now return to Brisbane where they will host the Chiefs and then finish their Super Rugby season in Sydney with a match against the Waratahs, while the lowly Western Force take on the Brumbies next weekend before ending their poor season against the Rebels in Melbourne.
FT | What a win for @Reds_Rugby! @QuadeCooper has led the #Reds to a 32-10 victory over @westernforce. #FORvRED pic.twitter.com/5vrBDJJgFy
— Super Rugby (@SuperRugbyAUS) May 30, 2015
Elsewhere, South Africa sevens star Seabelo Senatla scored his first two Super 15 tries to help Western Stormers trounce Central Cheetahs 42-12 and move closer to a play-offs place.
Senatla, who made his southern hemisphere inter-provincial championship debut last weekend, claimed his brace as the home side ran in five to pick up a bonus point before a 20,000 Cape Town crowd.
The dreadlocked 22-year-old winger has quickly adjusted to the 15-a-side rugby after finishing leading 2015 Sevens World Series try-scorer with 43, and a nomination for player of the season.
He used power and pace to score his first-half tries at Newlands stadium while South African conference leaders Stormers moved within four points of clinching first place and a top-three finish.
Stormers complete their league season with two more South African derbies, at home to the Golden Lions next Saturday and away to the Coastal Sharks in Durban a week later.
One more victory would lift the Cape Town outfit to 47 points, and out of the reach of their two challengers, the Lions and three-time champions the Northern Bulls.
In the New Zealand Conference, The Otago Highlanders outsmarted the Waikato Chiefs to move into second place with a crushing 36-9 victory in their Super 15 clash in Invercargill.
Good to finally get to play footy with my team mates again.. It’s been tough being injured and… https://t.co/WUrHMMnual
— Quade Cooper (@QuadeCooper) May 30, 2015
The Highlanders led 11-3 at half-time and rammed home the advantage in the second spell as the Chiefs failed to find a way to counter the intense pressure.
Meanwhile, Ruan Combrinck scored two tries and created another as the Lions held off the Waratahs 27-22 in Johannesburg.
The win keeps the Lions in the hunt for a play-off place, just two years after they were relegated from Super Rugby, while the losing bonus point was enough to send the Waratahs back to the top of the Australian Conference.
