The Brumbies and Chiefs faced off in the 2013 Grand Final replay in Canberra on ANZAC Day with the Brumbies keen to get one back on the Chiefs after denying their fairytale run.
The Match
The Brumbies have gained revenge for that Grand Final loss with an impressive 41-23 bonus point win over the Cheifs which has added importance to keep them on top of the Australian conference. They scored five tries in the process
There appeared to be some early nerves with Jesse Mogg dropping an early kick from the Chiefs with no one within sight but the Chiefs couldn’t take advantage of that early gift.
The Brumbies had an early chance to open the scoring but Christian Lealiifano, who was back in the starting lineup, couldn’t find his range from a handy position.
The Chiefs were the first team to open the scoring with flyhalf Gareth Anscombe landing a penalty in the 13th minute.
The Brumbies hit back almost straight away with Lealiifano levelling the scores with his first penalty goal of the night and the scores would stay level with neither team really able to get on top.
The visitors were the next to score after a lucky bounce of the ball in the leadup after a clearing kick was touched by a Brumbies player and some good awareness from a Chiefs player well down the field saw them inside the Brumbies 22. They couldn’t get the ball over the line but Anscombe was able to land his second penalty of the night.
The first try of the night came after 30 minutes to the Brumbies with Matt Toomua evading defenders and diving over the line from close range.
The Chiefs opened the scoring in the second half with a third penalty to Anscombe but the Brumbies hit back with a try to Joe Tomane on the right wing with some great handling in the leadup and was given the OK from the TMO after some doubts on the final pass.
The Chiefs tried to get back into the game and started to look dangerous as they put together multiple phases at a high tempo but that came at a cost with replacement James Lowe copping a yellow card for a trip when scrambling in defence in the midfield.
It was very costly period for the Chiefs with the Brumbies piling on 18 points that included a double to Tevita Kuridrani that secured the bonus point for the hosts.
Those tries came from pressure that resulted in the Chiefs coughing up the ball in their own half with Jarrad Butler feeding Kuridrani for the second of his tries on the night.
With the Brumbies ringing the substitutes, the Chiefs finally scored a try with reserve scrum half Brad Weber taking advantage of the retreating Brumbies defence from a penalty. The conversion made the score 36-16 with less than 10 minutes remaining.
The visitors played right to the end with the Brumbies getting penalised numerous times, and the weight of possession saw reserve Josh Hohneck give the Chiefs a chance at securing a losing bonus point. But with the siren sounded, Matt Toomua scooted down the right wing after a pass from Ruan Smith and scored the Brumbies fifth and his second try of the night to secure the 41-23 win.
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The Game Changer
The yellow card to Chiefs player James Lowe in the 53rd minute saw the Brumbies pile on 18 points in his absence.
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The G&GR MOTM
Matt Toomua – 2 tries in all round impressive performance.
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Wallaby Watch
Matt Toomua lead the backline well and his 2 tries and general kicking was a feature in the win.
Tevita Kuridrani had 2 meat pies and put pressure on the Chiefs with his rush defence.
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The Details
Crowd: 16,159
Score & Scorers
[one_half last=”no”]BRUMBIES 41
Tries: Toomua 2, Tomane, Kuridrani 2
Conversions: Lealiifano, White
Penalties: Lealiifano 2, White 2
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[one_half last=”yes”]CHIEFS 23
Tries: Weber, Hohneck
Conversions: Horrell 2
Penalties: Anscombe 3
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Cards
53 – James Lowe (Chiefs) – Yellow (tripping)
