???It was no oil painting but the Queensland Reds have survived some scrappy handling, controversial refereeing and two yellow cards to start their Super Rugby campaign with a dramatic 28-26 victory against the Sharks at Suncorp Stadium.
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The boot of Sharks sharpshooter Pat Lambie looked to have been they key factor before a late try to replacement halfback James Tuttle helped the Reds fall over the line in what would be a frantic second half in Brisbane.
"Very pleased. More relieved than anything. It was very tough out there. A lot of dropped ball. We need to improve on execution," Reds captain James Slipper told Fox Sports after the game.
It was a night when the Reds welcomed back Quade Cooper for his first match for Queensland for 622 days, while Wallaby captain Stephen Moore returned to his home state and the great George Smith made his debut at 36.
Their strong roster had made them favourites for the Australian conference but it was never going to be an easy night against the physical South Africans, with Lambie adding the icing with six from seven attempts.
The start was a calamity. A Cooper error saw Sharks flanker Jean-Luc du Preez score before most people had taken their seats.
Penalties to Cooper would make it 10-6 to the Sharks after 25 minutes, a period that also saw the home side amass eight turnovers. Lambie pounced to make it 13-6, while halfback Nick Frisby's right boot would prove to be anything but reliable for the entire evening.
Scott Higginbotham's pre-season run-in with the law had him in some doubt for the opener but he made the most of his starting spot with a quality performance capped off with a try under the posts that levelled scores at 13-13.
Lambie made it five-from-five soon after the break before a vintage Smith charge from the ruck gave the Reds a golden chance to hit back, with Slipper opting for the attacking scrum instead of the point-blank penalty.
It proved decisive. A powerful scrum gave the Reds a penalty, before Scott Higginbotham swung it to the short side for Samu Kerevi to burrow over after 48 minutes, making it 19-18.
Karmichael Hunt was desperately unlucky when he was held back after chasing a his own grubber. Instead of a yellow card for the Sharks, Reds lock Kane Douglas found himself in the bin for a neck grab on Tendai Mtawarira to leave his side with 14 after 56 minutes.
It was a costly moment. Lubabalo Mtembu was ruled to have scored for the Sharks at the bottom of a maul, even if on-field referee Nick Briant didn't sound overly convincing with his verdict. The replay showed no evidence either way and the five points stood.
Kerevi was a handful on every carry and his second came when the Reds needed it most, pegging the lead back to three.
Cooper had the chance to level scores but pushed the 42m penalty well to the left, leaving his tally at three-from-six. He made a big play just a minute later, handing a perfect ball to Duncan Paia-aua, who ran a quality line to set up fresh halfback Tuttle for a 28-26 lead with 10 minutes to play.
There were more twists in store. Hunt was shown a yellow card for high contact on winger Lwazi Mvovo, who ducked into the tackle but was still collected around the collar. Lambie would miss his first of the night and the Reds would survive round one.
