Author: Steve Lenthall

Canberra born and bred Rugby fan brought up on Canberra Kookaburra and ACT Brumbies Rugby.

The 2018 season is finally over for the Wallabies after they went down 37-18 to England at Twickenham. Despite the 19 point margin, it wasn’t all plain sailing for England after the Wallabies rallied to level the scores at 13-13 on half time and could have even been in front after what looked like a shoulder charge from Owen Farrell on Izack Rodda went unpunished by referee Jaco Peyper. It didn’t matter in the end as four England tries and the kicking display from Farrell were too much as England ran away with it in the second half to make…

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The Wallabies have got their tour back on track with a hard fought 26-7 win over Italy in Padova. A double to Marika Koroibete and tries to Taniela Tupou and a late score from Willa Genia sealed the result with the final scoreline looking comfortable but it was anything but that in the first half. A determined Italian defence and some questionable refereeing decisions made the Wallabies work hard before they opened the scoring after 30 minutes and did enough throughout the game to keep the hosts at bay. The Match Both sides were full of running in the opening…

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The Canberra Vikings have consolidated their position in the top four and temporarily moved to second on the ladder with a 31-21 come from behind win over the Rising in Canberra. It was a game that seemed to have everything with a penalty try to each team and a total of three yellow cards handed out in a busy night for referee Angus Gardner. It looked like the Rising would spoil the party as they raced out to a 14-0 lead in the first half and again at 21-14 in the second half with strong games from their forwards including…

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The Vikings are the John I Dent Cup winners for 2018 with a 29-17 win over Royals in the grand final. A superb display at 10 from youngster Noah Lelesio and a two try haul from winger Andrew Robinson lead the way for the Vikings as they secured their first final win since 2016 and their sixth since 2011. Royals launched a late comeback to reduce the margin to 12 with 12 minutes to go after being down 22-3 at the break but it was the first half errors that cost them any hope of victory. The Match It was…

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The Brumbies head into the Test window with a 41-31 win over a gallant Sunwolves in Canberra. A two-try effort from Henry Speight was the highlight of the Brumbies seven tries as they steadied after a scare early in the second half as the Sunwolves were only two points in arrears before scoring two tries in five minutes. The Sunwolves were good in patches and scored four good tries themselves but the defensive effort they had to put in seemed to tire them and allow the Brumbies to take control before running out eventual ten point winners. The Match The…

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The Brumbies 2018 season has received a lifeline as they snapped a three match losing streak to the Queensland Reds with a 45-21 bonus point win. The final result didn’t look likely as the Reds dominated the first 25 minutes and lead 15-0 and one stage before the Brumbies took the game and outscored the Reds 33-3 in the second half as their forwards scored six of their seven tries with number 8 Isi Naisarani bagging a double. The Match It took the Reds only five minutes to get the scoring started. On the back of two penalties they had…

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The Waratahs have made it back-to-back wins to keep in touch of the conference leading Rebels with a tough 24-17 win over the Brumbies in Canberra. A two-try performance from winger Taqele Naiyaravoro and a good display from their forward pack saw the Waratahs get a deserved win as they had to do it without star Israel Folau, who went off early with a hamstring injury and is likely to be out for up to a month. The visitors dominated the territory stats and didn’t allow the Brumbies to get into their game as Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale stepped…

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It has been a while since the Brumbies have hosted the Waratahs in Canberra due to the nature of the Super Rugby draw but come Saturday it will have been 757 days since they faced off in the capital. It has also been a while since David Pocock played for the Brumbies after a delayed start to his 2018 season due to knee surgery. He will make his return to rugby in Australia by being named to start his first Brumbies game in 617 days in what will also be his 100th Super Rugby match. It’s only round seven but…

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It has been some time but the Brumbies are back in the winners circle with a 24-17 win over the Sharks in Canberra tonight. It wasn’t pretty by any means but at this point of the season the win is crucial to get the Brumbies season back on track following two disappointing losses in a row. It was the boot of Wahrenui Hawera that won it for the home side with four penalty goals, including three from long range. There were still some issues around the set piece with starting hooker Folau Fainga’a struggling at times at lineout time and…

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