Here's a basic top-line summary of the match on Friday afternoon between the Brumbies and Waratah's Under 20s.
The first half was full of mistakes on both sides. Lots of dropped ball - spilling from the hands at impact during tackles and just basic fumbles or passes too long or behind the shoulder.
Although the senior Brumbies / Waratah's game later the same evening took 25 minutes for the first scrum to set, by comparison the 20s must have had 10 or 12 in the first 25 mins.
The Brumbies scrum was superior. Almost every scrum in the first half held for a few moments, and then the Brumbies pushed the Waratahs back one, two or three metres. They just couldn't hold them - would be interested to know the comparative pack weights.
There were a few penalties for scrum infringements against the Waratahs as well (wheeling the scrum by pulling back, popping up, etc).
Lineouts were improved on previous weeks, but still a bit of a lucky dip. Some were good, some were not so good, and the Brumbies pinched a few in the first half and disrupted the Waratah's delivery on others.
The game see-sawed from end to end through the first half, with neither team taking obvious ascendency.
The score at half time was 5-0 to the Waratahs.
In the second half, the back line movements started to flow better and the ball didn't go to ground so often. The NSW Gen Blue boys seemed to pick up the pace and make the more of the opportunities presented to them than the Brumbies, as the second half progressed. In the forwards, the scrum improved - even won a well contested tight head in the last 20 minutes and a few good driving mauls - with every lineout won cleanly.
With 32 minutes left in the second half it was Brumbies 5 - Waratahs 12.
10 minutes after half time a bunch of reserves came on for the Waratahs, and soon the same followed for the Brumbies. The depth of the NSW side showed through at this point.
18 minutes to full time it was Brumbies 7 - Waratahs 19
14 minutes to full time it was Brumbies 7 - Waratahs 26
The Waratahs were taking control of the match now, and it felt perhaps that the big boppers in the Brumbies forwards couldn't keep up the pace. The Waratah's reserves bench also seemed to add some spice around the park.
With 12 minutes to go it was Brumbies 7 - Waratahs 31, and the match was pretty well sewn up. But that's when the Gen Blue boys may have relaxed a little too much.
The Brumbies fullback Harry Tyson picked up a loose ball (or perhaps it was an intercept) and sprinted about 75 metres down the sideline, chased most of the way by Harrison Goddard who couldn't quite run him down (Goddard had a heavily strapped knee and was perhaps held back by this?).
With 8 minutes to go, the score was now Brumbies 12 - Waratahs 31, the ACT boys had their tails up.
With one minute to go the Brumbies 20s squeezed over in the corner, taking the final score to Brumbies 19 - Waratahs 31.
Too little too late, but a good effort in the dying minutes by the ACT side.