Cape Town - The Brumbies took advantage of an ill-disciplined Blues side to win their cross-Tasman Super Rugby clash in Canberra on Saturday.
As it happened: Brumbies v Blues
The Brumbies won 26-21 after trailing 15-12 at half-time.
The Brumbies scored four tries thanks to a hat-trick by hooker Folau Faigna’a and a first ever five-pointer by prop James Slipper. Flyhalf Christian Lealiifano added three conversions.
The Blues, who were reduced to 14 men on two occasions when props Alex Hodgman and Ofa Tu'ungafasi were shown yellow cards, replied with two tries by centre TJ Faiane and wing Caleb Clarke. Flyhalf Otere Black was on target with a conversion and penalty, while replacement pivot Harry Plummer added two penalties.
The Brumbies picked up four points for their victory and moved to second in the Australian Conference and seventh in the Overall log.
The Blues picked up a single point for losing by seven or fewer points, but stayed fourth and 12th in the New Zealand Conference and Overall standings, respectively.
In next weekend's Round 13 action, the Brumbies welcome the Sunwolves to Canberra (Sunday, May 12 - 08:05 SA time), while the Blues host the Hurricanes in Auckland (Friday, May 10 - 09:35 SA time).
Teams:
Brumbies
15 Tom Banks, 14 Henry Speight, 13
Len Ikitau, 12 Irae Simone, 11 Toni Pulu, 10 Christian Lealiifano
(captain), 9 Joe Powell, 8 Pete Samu, 7 Jahrome Brown, 6 Tom Cusack, 5
Sam Carter, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Folau Faigna’a, 1 James
Slipper
Substitutes: 16 Conor McInerney, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Leslie Leuluaialii-Makin, 19 Darcy Swain, 20 Murray Douglas, 21 Ryan Lonergan, 22 Tom Wright, 23 Andy Muirhead
Blues
15 Melani Nanai, 14 Matt Duffie, 13 TJ Faiane, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Otere Black, 9 Sam Nock, 8 Akira Ioane, 7 Blake Gibson (captain), 6 Tom Robinson, 5 Josh Goodhue, 4 Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 3 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 2 Leni Apisai, 1 Alex Hodgman
Substitutes: 16 James Parsons, 17 Karl Tu'inukuafe, 18 Marcel Renata, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Dalton Papalii, 21 Augustine Pulu, 22 Harry Plummer, 23 Levi Aumua
