The Brumbies have consolidated their lead on top of the Australian Conference with a 43-10 bonus point win over the Queensland Reds to make it ten straight wins against Australian opposition.
The Reds had their chances in the first half to take control of the match but copped the full force of the Brumbies just after the half time break and conceded three converted tries in 15 minutes to put the game out of their reach as they added 33 unanswered points in the second half.
The Match
The Reds came out looking the better of the two sides and had the majority of the territory and possession and spent the opening ten minutes in the Brumbies half. An early shot at penalty goal from James Tuttle missed that would have settled early nerves but they made up for it with a try from close range to Chris Kuridrani after seven minutes.
The Brumbies finally got their hands on the ball and responded with a penalty goal to Wharenui Hawera to make it 7-3 after 12 minutes. There was some flashes of brilliance with some deft handling, including the forwards getting in on the act with the sight of Rory Arnold in full flight a highlight.
The home side looked to hit back in the corner from Henry Speight but he dropped the ball from a poor pass with no one in front of him.
The Reds had a clear tactic of using Tuttle to box kick and it worked well to a degree with his kicks in behind the Brumbies line causing Aidan Toua a few headaches as he was trying to clear from his non favoured angle to give the Reds decent field position.
Tuttle was also finding gaps in the Brumbies defensive line and made a few breaks but the Reds could not take advantage of those and right on half time, he leveled the scores at 10-10 with a penalty goal.
The Brumbies did not take much time to get on the board in the second half with their second try of the match scored from the usual rolling maul following a penalty against Kane Douglas. There could have been a possible yellow card to Eto Nabuli that would have been his third of the season but Robbie Abel was given the nod from the TMO. Hawera converted from out wide to make it 17-10.
Then right off the restart the Brumbies scored again to Aidan Toua following a break from Allan Alaalatoa that nearly got picked off but Toua hit the gas and outran the defence to put the Reds right on the back foot at 24-10.
The Brumbies scrum were keen to get in on the act and after a scrum about ten metres out, they put on the power to put the Reds backwards at a rate of knots and replacement Jarrad Butler came up with the try in his 50th Brumbies appearance.
The Reds battled to get any field position in the second half and did not have many chances whilst the Brumbies threw it around like it was an opposed training run.
With the match into the last ten minutes Tevita Kuridrani looked certain to score but great defence from Nabuli held him up but a few phases after the 5 metre scrum, James Dargaville had the fifth try of the night after a Gregan like inside pass from De Wet Roos.
The Brumbies had one last try in them as they put the Reds to the sword and Chris Alcock capped off a good game with a non-rolling maul try in the left corner after they stretched the Reds defence on the fringes and rounded out the 43-10 win.
The Brumbies have some injury concerns before next weeks match against the Melbourne Rebels with Kyle Godwin breaking a bone in his hand and Jordan Smiler injuring his hamstring.
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The Game Changer
Half time. Whatever was said in the Brumbies sheds worked a treat with 3 tries in 15 minutes to rip any chance the Reds had of a win.[/one_third][one_third last=”no”]
The G&GR MOTM
A few to choose from in a big win for the Brumbies but the nod goes to Aidan Toua in a photo finish with Rory Arnold. Toua ripped open the Reds defence in the second half. [/one_third][one_third last=”yes”]
Wallaby Watch
With the Wallaby camp on this week, there was much for Michael Cheika to run his eye over. Rory Arnold played well in his 60 or so minutes. The Brumbies front rowers of Sio and Alaalatoa just out pointed their opponents where scrums were a good battle all night. Joe Powell had one of his better games and should be in contention for a squad spot come June.
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The Details
Score & Scorers
[one_half last=”no”]BRUMBIES 43
Tries: T Kuridrani, Abel, Toua, Butler, Dargaville, Alcock
Conversions: Hawera 5
Penalties: Hawera
[/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”]REDS 10
Tries: C. Kuridrani
Conversions: Tuttle
Penalties: Tuttle
[/one_half]
Cards
Nil
Crowd
11,466
