A dominant Brumbies side rarely got out of second gear, earning a comfortable 29 – 0 victory against an impotent and injury riddled Reds.
First Half
From an early defensive scrum in the 5th minute, Talakai collapsed under pressure from Sio and Lealiifano missed the relatively easy early penalty chance. Both events set the tone of the game: the scrums were a mess with the Reds more often than not under pressure, and Leliifano seemed to have left his kicking boots on the bus.
The Reds got a chance to inflict some rare early pressure on the Brumbies. A charge down from Frisby on a White clearance kick (under no pressure, weirdly enough) rolled out five metres from the Brumbies’ line. Soon after, Genia showed the Reds intent in taking a five metre lineout instead of a difficult penalty attempt, but then the Reds failed to lift Horwill and compounded the error when Kotze gave away a penalty. Still, the Reds somehow enjoyed some time in the Brumbies half despite giving up multiple turnovers, but could make nothing of it.
When the Brumbies held the ball they looked ominous, and in the 20th minute they drew first blood. A half break from Toomua found Tevita Kuridrani, who was dragged down a few metres out. Off the ensuing ruck White found Moore a few channels wide, and Moore managed to crash over the line despite the attention of several Reds. Lealiifano missed adding the extras.
The Brumbies again exposed the Reds defence just seven minutes later. From a 35 metre scrum the Brumbies marched up into the Reds 22 with ease, particularly from a strong carry from Speight. After a few close pick and drives from just a metre out, White threw a nice pass to an unmarked Alexander standing a few channels wide of the ruck, and it looked all too easy for the Brumbies. Lealiifano again missed the conversion, hitting the post.
The Brumbies were up 10 – 0 within 30 minutes, and the Reds were still to fire a shot.
The Reds had their best chance of a try in the first half after Speight made a meal of a pass, putting the Reds hot on attack. Some strong runs from Chris Kuridrani out wide then saw the ball fly back to the other side off the field, but when Thomson found himself in a hole all he could do was throw the ball to Toomua.
In the 37th minute the ref finally got sick off the mess that were the scrums. By and large, Talakai was struggling under heavy Brumby pressure, making life even harder for the Reds as their lineout was also wobbling.
Finally, with just 1 minute left in the half, the Reds had their first real chance of points as Arnold tackled Frisby early from a chip and chase. However, a woeful penalty kick from Frisby was well wide.
The first half was a bit of a stop start affair, with neither team showing a lot of continuity. However, whenever the Brumbies held onto the ball the Reds always looked in trouble. The Brumbies also dominated the stats, particularly line breaks, missed tackles and getting over the advantage line. Perhaps the most memorable thing from the disjointed first half was the poor kicking at goal.
Second Half
Unfortunately for the Brumbies, Toomua failed to come onto the field after half time after copping a head knock. Toomua had been the best player on the field in the first half. Fortunately for the viewers, the game improved to give up a more enjoyable second half.
The Reds got an early penalty in front of the posts about 35 metres out, giving Frisby an early chance to make up for his earlier poor penalty attempt, but all he could do was put in an even worse effort, and he kicked the ball well wide.
The Brumbies again resumed scrum dominance, with both tightheads under heavy pressure, but Alexander was holding up slightly better than Talakai.
From a scrum penalty, a clever lineout option had the Brumbies just a metre from the Reds line. Gill had a rush of blood, literally picking up and throwing White, putting White in a dangerous position. While everyone else stood and watched, Alexander picked up the ball and dived over the line. Lealiifano finally kicked a goal, and the Brumbies went 17 – 0 up. Meanwhile, Gill was given a deserved yellow.
Alexander was having a huge game around the park. To go with his two tries, he broke some weak attempted tackles from the Reds to make a midfield break. The ball went wide, however Dargaville was held up over the line by Magnay. In backplay, Horwill was out cold after copping a stray Moore knee to the head.
From the ensuing five metre scrum, the Brumbies earnt a series of penalties. The Reds were perhaps a tad unlucky with Slipper getting over Alexander on the far side from the referee, but Sio was doing a fine job on firstly Talakai and then Faagase.
After 5 minutes and just as many penalties against the 7 man Reds scrum, a scrum finally completed with the Reds getting a decent shove on before a counter from Sio. It took just two rucks for the Reds defence to be cruelly exposed as Vaea crashed over out wide. Lealiifano again failed to add the extras and the Brumbies took a 22 – 0 lead after 58 minutes.
Both coaches rung the changes, but on the park nothing changed as the Brumbies dominance continued. A huge tackle from Browning on Carter was perhaps a rare highlight for the Reds, meanwhile the Brumbies got attacking practice against a Reds team incapable of getting out of their own half.
It took until the 68th minute for the Reds to even make their first break for the night as Feaui-Sautia beat four tacklers, but the limp Reds gave away a turnover at the next ruck. However, the Reds attack had been woken up and they threw the ball around, but the Brumbies defence was rarely troubled. It was too much across field for the Reds attack, with little variation – no changes of angle and just the very rare inside ball.
Lealiifano put the final nail in the Reds coffin in the 73rd minute. Messy Reds attack saw Tapuai throw a wild pass off the ground to Browning, and Lealiifano scooped on the loose ball to ran untouched under the posts, and then duly added the extras.
The Reds had a late chance for a try after Thomson failed to pick up an attacking kick. Mercifully for Reds fans, the referee finally blew the whistle to end a miserable night for the Reds, with the Brumbies running out dominant 29 – 0 victors.
The big question for Reds fans now is: how much longer will Graham remain head coach?
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The Game Changer
The Brumbies first try in the 20th minute. After that, they never looked back and the Reds never threatened.
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[one_third last=”no”]
The G&GR MOTM
Would likely have been Toomua if he had stayed on the field for the second half, and Alexander deserves a mention for two tries and a linebreak, but Ita Vaea takes the award for some strong runs and bone jarring defence.
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
Wallaby watch
Rory Arnold continues to impress. Toomua was good in the first half before he went off. Both looseheads got the better of their tightheads most of the time, but Sio dominated Talakai more than Slipper got over Alexander.
[/one_third]
The Details
Crowd: TBA
Score & Scorers
[one_half last=”no”]Reds: 0
Tries: –
Conversions: –
Penalties: Frisby (0/2) [/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”]Brumbies: 29
Tries: Moore, Alexander (2), Vaea, Lealiifano
Conversions: Lealiifano (2/5)
Penalties: Lealiifano (0/1) [/one_half]
Cards & citings
47th minute: Liam Gill yellow
