Cape Town - The Brumbies bounced back with an important win over the Waratahs in their Super Rugby clash in Canberra on Friday.
As it happened: Brumbies v Waratahs
The Brumbies had been disappointing in their early matches - and blew a big half-time lead against another Australian side, the Melbourne Rebels, in their previous outing - but overcame the absence of some key players to beat the Waratahs 19-13.
Both sides ran in two tries, but it was a penalty try in the second half which in the end proved decisive, the Waratahs paying the price for being unable to defend the rolling maul of the home side as the Brumbies joined them on two wins despite having less possession.
Brumbies veteran Lachlan McCaffrey, who played on despite appearing to hurt his right knee early in the match, was pleased his team was able to blunt the offence of the Waratahs.
"We knew they have a pretty strong bench and are pretty dangerous out wide, they have an all Wallaby back row," he said.
"Our hustle defence towards that last 25 minutes was pretty crucial to getting us over the line.
"It was a good test and we were desperate to get a win.
Missing Wallabies duo Allan Alaalatoa and David Pocock through injury in a match featuring plenty of Wallabies, the Brumbies also lost Rob Valentini and Scott Sio to knee injuries during the game -"- but stood firm to deny the star-studded Waratahs backline.
It was the Waratahs who started best, with a wayward Bernard Foley hitting the post with a penalty, but skipper Michael Hooper snared the rebound after the ball took an awkward bounce in among a nest of Brumbies.
Hooper broke free of a tackle to twist and turn his way over for the opening try.
In the 14th minute the Brumbies struck back, when their attacking pressure paid off and Folau Fainga’a barged over.
They then extended their lead to 12-5 in the 22nd minute, when a line-out and subsequent rolling maul worked perfectly and Fainga’a scored his second try.
The Waratahs won a penalty near their try line in the 35th minute and a scoring opportunity beckoned, but it was reversed due to a high shot by Sekope Kepu, who became the first of two 'Tahs sin-binned during the match.
In the 49th minute, the dangerous Israel Folau drew three defenders and popped it to Alex Newsome for an easy try as the Waratahs made it 12-10, with Foley again missing with the conversion to be 0-3 on the night.
However, another powerhouse rolling maul by the Brumbies in the 54th minute ended with the penalty try which gave them a match-winning 19-10 lead.
The Brumbies picked up four points for their victory and moved to second in the Australian Conference and sixth in the Overall standings.
The Waratahs left the capital with a single point for losing by seven or fewer points, but slipped to third in the Australian Conference. They did however remain seventh in the Overall log.
In next weekend's Round 6 action, the Brumbies travel to Brisbane to face the Reds (Sunday, March 24 at 07:05 SA time), while the Waratahs host the Crusaders in Sydney (Saturday, March 23 at 10:45 SA time).
Scorers:
Brumbies
Tries: Folau Fainga'a (2), penalty try
Conversion: Christian Lealiifano
Waratahs
Tries: Michael Hooper, Alex Newsome
Penalty: Bernard Foley
Teams:
Brumbies
15 Tom Banks, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Irae Simone, 11 Lausii Taliauli, 10 Christian Lealiifano (captain), 9 Joe Powell, 8 Lachlan McCaffrey, 7 Tom Cusack, 6 Rob Valentini, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Leslie Leuluaialii-Makin, 2 Folau Faingaa, 1 Scott Sio
Substitutes: 16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 James Slipper, 18 Tom Ross, 19 Murray Douglas, 20 Pete Samu, 21 Ryan Lonergan, 22 Jordan Jackson-Hope, 23 Mack Hansen
Waratahs
15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Israel Folau, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Karmichael Hunt, 11 Alex Newsome, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Jed Holloway, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Damien Fitzpatrick, 1 Harry Johnson-Holmes
Substitutes: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Rory O’Connor, 18 Chris Talakai, 19 Ryan Mccauley, 20 Lachlan Swinton, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Mack Mason, 23 Cameron Clark
