The Queensland Reds are one of Super Rugby’s in-form teams, riding high on a four-match winning streak that included a maiden win in Fiji over the Drua.<\/p>\n
The Reds sit fourth on the ladder, but are just two points behind front-running Hurricanes, who they will meet in Wellington on Saturday.<\/p>\n
This weekend marks the Reds’ first match in New Zealand this season, and history is not on their side.<\/p>\n
Lonergan crucial to Brumbies’ hopes<\/a><\/p>\n Brumbies captain Ryan Lonergan led by example in the come-from-behind win over the Chiefs, underlining how vital he is to his side’s finals hopes.<\/p>\n The Queenslanders have not beaten the Wellington-based franchises since 2013, when tries to Digby Ioane and Rob Simmons guided the Reds to an 18\u201312 win in front of 30,000 fans at Lang Park.<\/p>\n To make the task hard, the Reds have never won at Wellington Regional Stadium, affectionately known as the Cake Tin.<\/p>\n The Reds did defeat the Hurricanes in 1996 and 1998 at the now-demolished Athletic Park.<\/p>\n “This presents the toughest game in the competition to date \u2014 playing the Hurricanes at the Cake Tin in Wellington,” Reds head coach Les Kiss said.<\/p>\n “The Hurricanes’ form has been imperious with their blend of forward power and back line skills run by their halves Cam Roigard and Ruben Love.<\/p>\n “We’ve built confidence over our last four matches, for sure. It has shown the results of playing our game and building on what we do well.”<\/p>\n But the Reds will be boosted by the return of fly half Tom Lynagh, who will be on the bench for his first match this season.<\/p>\n