Thorn slams lid shut after rare Reds win

No one at the Queensland Reds is getting carried away with their first Super Rugby win under new coach Brad Thorn, lock Kane Douglas says.

Queensland Reds coach Brad Thorn

Coach Brad Thorn is ensuring the Reds aren't getting carried away with their Super Rugby win. (AAP)

If Queensland Reds players were still on a high after celebrating a rare Super Rugby win, they were brought straight back to earth with a Brad Thorn-led weights session.

So determined was the new coach to keep the lid on after Friday night's 18-10 victory over the Brumbies, Thorn took matters into his own hands when players reported for duty at the Ballymore gym on Monday morning.

The former All Blacks great has a fearsome reputation when it comes to lifting weights and often swaps the club polo for a training singlet and joins the players in their routines.

And despite Queensland's set-piece superiority against the Brumbies, Thorn still went through the video to show there are many areas for improvement in his rebuilding side.

"We're not going to yahoo and pump our own tyres up," lock Kane Douglas told reporters.

"We know it's a long season and it's only one win.

"The forwards were still in there for an hour and a bit, going through every lineout and every scrum to see how we can improve.

"Thorny even ran the weights session this morning so he was pretty pumped to get the boys back into training routine for another week.

"He ran the abs and everything - it's normally in your own time but it was in Brad's time today."

The Reds can't afford to rest on their laurels given their opponents on Saturday night, the Bulls, boast one of Super Rugby's most imposing forward packs and three Springbok regulars in Lood de Jager, Trevor Nyakane and Adriaan Strauss.

The Pretoria-based side was beaten 49-35 by the Lions last weekend but will present a stern challenge to the Reds.

"All the South African teams are pretty big and the Bulls especially," Douglas said.

"You've got to be ready for them and pay them the respect they need.

"Pretty much every week we say to ourselves it's going to be won or lost in the forwards.

"We know if we don't do our job it's probably going to be a hard night."


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Source: AAP



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