Brumbies pull out last-gasp try to break Waratahs' hearts
The Brumbies were thieves in the night at ANZ Stadium on Saturday as they manufactured a try out of nothing three minutes from full-time to sink the Waratahs in shattering circumstances for the men in sky blue.
NSW bottled a chance to prevail over the Brumbies for the first time in two years after reserve Brumbies halfback Issak Fines sliced through some meek defence from Lachlan Swinton and Will Harris to score next to the sticks and help continue his side’s unbeaten run in Super Rugby AU.
Issak Fines celebrates a try for the Brumbies.Credit:Getty
After streaking out to a 20-5 lead in the first half, the Waratahs should have iced this match but some lapses in concentration and lack of spark in the dying stages saw them suffer another morale-sapping loss.
A 47-14 defeat in the nation’s capital in March was diabolical for NSW and although the magic of a Waratahs-Brumbies derby may not be what is used to be, there were a few bruised NSW souls after that game who had to stew on that result all through lockdown.
Being so close on this occasion, falling 24-23 thanks to Bayley Kuenzle's 79th minute conversion, may actually be tougher to swallow.
NSW will go back to the drawing board with two losses from three matches in Super Rugby AU and an overwhelming feeling of what could have been as they once again squandered a chance to win the Dan Vickerman Cup.
Winning has almost become second-nature now for a well-drilled Brumbies outfit against their NSW foes. Their last four wins had been by an average of almost 15 points and while this was closer, one got the impression the Brumbies always had something up their sleeve.
Even against Australian opposition the Brumbies' record has been exemplary, with six wins on the bounce stretching back to a loss to the Queensland Reds in round six last year.
“Very disappointing that,” said Waratahs captain Rob Simmons. “I think as a forward pack we really fronted up and stopped that maul. They got through there once which was disappointing and we led most of that game until the end there. That’s what footy is; winning those pressure moments. We let one slip and that’s what happens.”
However, a calamitous period for the Brumbies played out from the ninth minute to the 33rd minute. They conceded six penalties on the trot, had James Slipper fail a head injury assessment, lost Andy Muirhead to the bin for a cynical infringement and then let first-time starter Tom Horton sneak over for NSW off the back of a driving maul.
It got worse and the momentum shift was most concerning for a quintessentially unflappable Brumbies side.
Will Harrison caught his opponents napping by kicking across field to James Ramm who snaffled the ball and dived over. It was a play that will go down as one of the highlights of the season for its audacity and exuberance, pulled off by a couple of kids sky high on confidence.
The NSW No.10 certainly made up for his error earlier when he knocked on a cross-field kick from Noah Lolesio that was swooped on by Tom Cusack in the Waratahs in-goal.
But when Lolesio went down with a hamstring injury before half-time, it was about as bad as it could get for a rattled Brumbies outfit. Their recovery oozed class.
Of all games this season, this is the one Harrison would have wanted to claim bragging rights over Lolesio. The pair are good pals, having forged a friendship as Junior Wallabies teammates last year, but Lolesio has been mentioned in the same breath as ‘gold jersey’ far more regularly despite being a rookie in his first season.
Dan McKellar’s head may have exploded had Folau Faingaa and Rob Valetini not crossed for five-pointers in quick succession to give the visitors a sniff as they trailed 20-17 at the break.
Once an eventful first half blew over, the game became more of a territory based grind.
The Brumbies’ scrum was still a concern, like it was against the Rebels, and a staggering eight lost lineouts was uncharacteristic.
However, the only thing that mattered was the scoreline and haven’t the Brumbies had that under control of late.