Brumbies blow Reds away
The Brumbies notched up 33 unanswered points in the second half after being held 10-10 by the Reds at half-time.
Stephen Larkham's team scored six tries to one with flyhalf Wharenui Hawera chipping in with 13 points from five conversions and a penalty.
It was the Brumbies' 10th consecutive Australian derby win, while the dismal Reds slumped to their sixth straight defeat this season.
The Brumbies broke away shortly after the resumption with a try to hooker Robbie Abel off the back of a rolling maul quickly followed up by a runaway try from fullback Aidan Toua.
It got worse for the struggling Reds with No.8 Jarrad Butler scoring off another rolling maul, and replacement James Dargaville and flank Chris Alcock adding further tries in the final minutes.
The Brumbies have opened up an eight-point lead over the Waratahs in the Australian conference with the Reds a further two points away.
"I am very happy with the second half, it is probably one of the best halves of rugby I've been involved with at this team," Brumbies skipper Scott Fardy said.
It was an abject showing from the Reds which skipper Stephen Moore described as "embarrassing".
"Ten-all at half-time, I don't know what to say, it was embarrassing," Moore said.
"I thought we did some good stuff in the first half, but we restarted poorly conceding two quick tries in the second half, that got us on the back foot and we probably didn't show enough fight."
The Brumbies have now won their last five games against the Reds, who have lost their last 12 games away from home.
The home side's victory came at a price, with centre Kyle Godwin (broken hand) and loose forward Jordan Smiler (hamstring) not finishing the game.
The Brumbies face the Rebels in Melbourne next week in another Australian derby, while the Reds host South Africa's Southern Kings in Brisbane.
Man of the match: Brumbies scrumhalf Joe Powell produced some great play on attack and gets the award. Special mention must also be given to Rory Arnold, Scott Fardy and Chris Alcock
The scorers:
For Brumbies:
Tries: Kuridrani, Abel, Toua, Butler, Dargaville, Alcock
Cons: Hawera 5
Pen: Hawera
For Reds:
Try: Kuridrani
Con: Tuttle
Pen: Tuttle
Teams:
Brumbies: 15 Aidan Toua, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 Tom Banks, 10 Wharenui Hawera, 9 Joe Powell, 8 Jordan Smiler, 7 Chris Alcock, 6 Scott Fardy (captain), 5 Blake Enever, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Robbie Abel, 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 Nic Mayhew, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Tom Staniforth, 20 Jarrad Butler, 21 De Wet Roos, 22 Andrew Smith, 23 James Dargaville.
Reds: 15 Lachlan Maranta, 14 Chris Kuridrani, 13 Samu Kerevi, 12 Duncan Paia'aua, 11 Eto Nabuli, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 James Tuttle, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 George Smith, 6 Adam Korczyk, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Stephen Moore (captain), 1 Sef Fa'agase.
Replacements: 16 Alex Mafi, 17 Kirwan Sanday, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Izack Rodda, 20 Hendrik Tui, 21 Moses Sorovi, 22 Hamish Stewart, 23 Izaia Perese.
Referee: Nick Briant (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Paul Williams (New Zealand), James Leckie (Australia)
TMO: Ian Smith (Australia)
AFP
