Brumbies win 10-try feast
The Brumbies booked their place in the Super Rugby play-offs with an impressive 47-25 win over the Western Force on Friday.
The 10-try feast in Canberra saw the Brumbies move into fourth place on the standings, with only the Highlanders (of those teams below them) still capable of overtaking them
The result also knocked the Hurricanes out of contention, the New Zealand franchise spending their bye weekend observing other teams collecting valuable points.
The Western Force simply had no answer to the pace and power of the Brumbies, who were very clinical in their execution.
It was the Brumbies' first four-try bonus point of the season and showed they can be a real threat in the play-offs.
In contrast, the Force were hesitant and it was not till midway through the second half – with the game virtually over as a contest – that the visitors started finding some kind attacking form.
The Brumbies, after withstanding some early pressure from the Western Force, opened the scoring when Matt Toomua finished off a move that saw the home team retain the ball through multiple phases and slowly building up the pace till the Force ran out of defenders.
Christian Lealiifano pulled his conversion attempt wide, but slotted a penalty 10 minutes later as the Brumbies took a 8-0 lead.
The Force eventually found their rhythm, with fullback Jayden Hayward slotting penalties in the 18th and 23rd minutes to make it a two-point game.
However, Lealiifano kicked a second penalty, before Toomua got his second try – his third double for the season. It was another sweeping move in which the Brumbies' pace exposed frailties in the Force's defensive line.
The Brumbies continued to sustain their attacking approach and earned further reward when Jesse Mogg finished off a move ion which prop Benn Alexander and wing Clyde Rathbone combined beautifully to create the space for the fullback. Again Lealiifano's conversion attempt was wide.
The Brumbies took that 21-6 into the half-time break.
It went from bad to worse for the visitors five minutes into the second half, when Henry Speight brushed aside a defender after good hands from Toomua put him into space. This time Lealiifano added the extras – 28-6 to the home team.
The Force thought they had worked their way back into the game just after the 50-minute mark.
Prop Pek Cowan had worked his way over the line from close range, after a sustained attack in which the referee had played advantage five times for transgressions by the Brumbies. Apart from awarding the try, the referee also flashed a yellow card at Brumbies flank Jarrad Butler for the repeated infringements. The Hayward conversion made it 13-28.
However, almost immediately the Brumbies struck back as Toomua got his hat-trick – the first for the Brumbies in 10 years. The conversion made it 35-13.
Still the Force fought bravely and centre Chris Tuatara-Morrison was awarded one of the most amazing tries of the season – a great pass by Zack Holmes to the Dane Haylett-Petty, who chipped and was tackled early, but still managed to palm the ball back to Tuatara-Morrison, who propelled the ball forward with his leg and collected to go over. The TMO had several looks, but found no 'obvious' knock-on and the five-pointer stood. The conversion was wide 18-35 with just under 20 minutes remaining.
Again the Brumbies' reply was swift, Joe Tomane collecting a stray ball for the sixth Brumbies try. The conversion made it 42-18.
Zack Holmes scored the Force's third try with just under 10 minutes remaining, giving them hope of two bonus points and an outside chance of sneaking into the play-offs.
However, Tom McVerry finished the scoring with the Brumbies' seventh try in the 79th minute and thus ended the visitors' dream in what is still their best season ever.
Man of the match: This is an easy decision. Matt Toomua enhanced his growing reputation as one of Australia's premier pivots by pulling the strings in a commanding performance from the home team. He was rewarded with three great tries. It is the first hat-trick by a Brumby player in 10 years.
The scorers:
For the Brumbies:
Tries: Toomua 3, Mogg, Speight, Tomane, McVerry
Cons: Lealiifano 3
Pens: Lealiifano 2
For the Western Force:
Tries: Cowan, Tuatara-Morrison, Holmes
Cons: Hayward, Ebersohn
Pens: Hayward 2
Yellow card: Jarrad Butler (Brumbies, 53 – repeated infringements at the breakdown)
Teams:
Brumbies: 15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Clyde Rathbone, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Nic White, 8 Ben Mowen (captain), 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Leon Power, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Josh Mann-Rea, 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Ruaidhri Murphy, 17 Ruan Smith, 18 JP Smith, 19 Fotu Auelua, 20 Tom McVerry, 21 Michael Dowsett, 22 Joe Tomane, 23 Pat McCabe.
Western Force: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Solomoni Rasolea, 12 Chris Tuatara-Morrison, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Zack Holmes, 9 Ian Prior, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Matt Hodgson (captain), 6 Brynard Stander, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Sam Wykes, 3 Kieran Longbottom, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Pek Cowan.
Replacements: 16 Heath Tessmann, 17 Tetera Faulkner, 18 Oliver Hoskins, 19 Adam Coleman, 20 Chris Alcock, 21 Alby Mathewson, 22 Luke Burton, 23 Sias Ebersohn.
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Andrew Lees (Australia)
TMO: Steve Leszczynski (Australia)
