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Brumbies crush Sunwolves to take top spot in Australian conference
By Online Editors
The Brumbies have gone to the top of the Australian Super Rugby conference with a 33-0 win against the Sunwolves in Canberra on Sunday.
The five-try victory marked a fifth straight win for the Brumbies at home as they overtook the Melbourne Rebels to lead the four Australian teams with five rounds remaining.
Having taken offence at perceived criticism for dull, set-piece oriented play, the Brumbies cut loose.
They scored three tries inside 30 minutes as giant centre Tevita Kuridrani ran riot in a performance that will boost his Wallabies recall chances.
"That was nice, some of our turnovers sparked Tevita and (winger) Henry (Speight) into some space and the pressure our forwards applied up front was good," Brumbies captain Christian Lealiifano said.
"We knew how unpredictable they were going to be and they’re a really good attacking side so that’s impressive keeping them to zero.
"There's still plenty to go and in the season and we have a few conference games coming up, we just have to make sure we keep the momentum going."
The Sunwolves crossed first when Gerhard van den Heever dived into the corner but it was called back when the TMO found the winger put a foot in touch.
After a slow opening 15 minutes, the Brumbies scored when Speight and Kuridrani combined for an 80-metre try that the former finished under the posts.
They made it two in two minutes when Kuridrani again burst off his own line and ran 60 metres before Joe Powell finished the length-of-the-field try.
The Sunwolves stopped consecutive mauls from five metres out but the Brumbies then shifted it wide and Speight scored the third on 27 minutes.
The Brumbies picked up where they left off in the second half, scoring a sensational set-piece try on 52 minutes.
Inside centre Irae Simone threw a perfectly weighted pass to Speight who pierced through the middle and put fullback Tom Banks into the corner.
Banks then made a try-saving tackle before Kuridrani broke the line again and found No. 8 Pete Samu, who ran 40 metres to score the fifth try.
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Latest Comments
This article should have been written immediately after the final, not half a year later. While the content of the article is accurate with the references to the cruel bounce to Savea right before the try line, Etzebeth’s cynical infringement, and the inconsistent cards, some of the hyperbole emotional statements are unnecessary and gaslighting. The fact remains that the Springboks took their scoring opportunities. They had amazing defence throughout the entire match (limiting the ABs to one try is very respectable), their scrum was pretty good and they had quite a solid lineout despite having a part-time hooker throwing the ball in. Let’s give credit where credit is due and move forward. The Springboks won because they know how to win big games through strong defence and kicking, and they had lady luck on their side on the day. The All Blacks miraculously made the final despite everyone’s predictions and could’ve won the whole damn thing with 14 men who should’ve taken better advantage of their scoring chances and committed less mistakes (shoddy lineouts, dropped balls, some poor kicks and passing, etc), and an average coach and captain with some questionable tactics (Jordie kicking for goal late in the game from a dodgy position and perhaps the wrong game plan overall). Time to move on.
Go to commentsGreat mythology - no surprises Ox didn't talk about being driven backwards by Laulala in the RWC final!
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