Brumbies see red in Canberra
Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:39
Leading from the front: George Smith
A second half rampage by the Brumbies secured them a well-deserved 43-11 victory over arch-rivals, the Reds in the Super 14 in Canberra on Saturday.
The Reds never looked threatening on attack and were completely outplayed in the second half, leaking five tries.
The Reds were competitive enough in the first half although they never really threatened the Brumbies try-line. One always had the feeling that the home side would run riot in the second half.
And that they did with five well-worked tries.
The match started auspiciously for the Brumbies, when, in just the second minute, fullback Julian Huxley was carried off with a neck injury.
The Brumbies have already been ravaged with injuries, and coach Laurie Fisher will be wandering what he has done wrong to deserve all this bad luck.
Things were to improve for Fisher's chargers though.
After absorbing some brief, early pressure form the Reds, some brilliant work from Huxley's replacement, Peter Playford, allowed Mark Gerrard to open the scoring for the home side.
Playford found space on the right and then floated a beautifully weighted pass to Gerrard who had a clear run to the try-line.
Gerrard converted his own try to make it 7-0.
Soon after Brumbies rookie No.13, Sanualio Afeaki made a sniping break and looked to have done enough to score. Only a brilliant try-saving tackle from Berrick Barnes prevented Afeaki from extending the Brumbies lead.
In the ensuing action Reds fullback Chris Latham gave away a silly penalty when he illegally slapped the ball into touch. His misdemeanor went unpunished, however, when Gerrard failed to convert the three points on offer.
This was the story of the day for the Reds - they were directionless on attack, and they lacked discipline that gave the Brumbies the necessary momentum to suffocate the Reds.
However it was the Brumbies No.11, Francis Fainifo who received the first yellow card of the day after a senseless spear tackle on Berrick Barnes after the whistle had sounded.
The Reds did manage a penalty in the interim, after a schoolboy error from flyhalf Christian Lealiifano gave the Reds a good attacking platform with a scrum on the Brumbies 10-metre line. A penalty ensued and Clinton Schifcofske duly obliged by stroking the ball over the crossbar.
The Reds defended valiantly in the first half, and would have been satisfied with their 3-10 deficit. However they were also likely to struggle with the high-paced game adopted by the home side on the day.
The first half was a typical Brumbies-Reds encounter - hard and uncompromising, with numerous big hits being the order of the day. The rugby may not have been easy on the eye, but derbies rarely are.
What counts is who is on top of the scoreboard after 80 minutes.
The Brumbies started the second half strongly, an indication of things to come.
The got their second try of the match after a good passage of play in the Reds 22.
Wallaby lock Mark Chisholm picked the ball up from the back of a ruck and found a gaping hole to gallop 10 metres without a hand being laid on him.
Gerrard knocked over the conversion to give the home side a commanding 17-6 lead with 30 minutes to play.
Chisholm didn't have to wait long to add his second try, when he finished off a slick passage of play from the home side.
George Smith, Mark Gerrard and Adam Wallace-Harrison were prominent is the lead-up to Chisholm's try. In fact George Smith and Mark Gerrard were instrumental throughout the match - showing that cool, experienced heads are priceless in big games.
That made the score 24-6, the Reds facing a mountain to climb in order to get back into the game.
The Reds' comeback aspirations were dealt another blow when replacement wing Peter Hynes was ordered to the sin-bin after he played the ball off his feet in the red zone.
Their fate was sealed soon after.
The Brumbies then looked to have scored their bonus point try when red-haired Peter Kimlin had an open line in front of him, only to drop the ball metres from the line.
It didn't prove costly, however, when a few moments later, Ben Alexander secured the all-important fourth try when he barged his way over from close range.
Gerrard added his fourth conversion of the day to stretch the lead out to 31-6.
Straight off the ensuing kick-off, the Reds finally strung some decent phases together and were rewarded with a consolation try, courtesy of Van Humphries.
The Brumbies weren't finished yet, and the last five minutes scored two fantastic tries.
The first of then came from Peter Playford, who broke the fragile Reds defence to run 40 metres before dotting down under the poles.
Playford, clearly relishing in an extended run for the Brumbies looked sharp
throughout.
With the current injury crisis in the Brumbies camp, Playford could find himself playing a much bigger role than he anticipated before the season kicked off.
The Brumbies capped a memorable display off with a Stephen Hoiles try in the dying minutes. Replacement hooker Huia Edmonds showed his vast array of skills with a deft little chip kick that resulted in Hoiles sprinted in for his team's sixth try.
Gerrard missed his first conversion of the match, but it was immaterial as the Brumbies sounded a warning that they are not going to lie down and play dead this season.
Although they have lost some quality personnel, this was vintage Brumbies rugby that would have given them plenty of confidence for the rest of the competition.
For the Reds, its the back to the drawing boards. Their season started well enough but at first glance, it looks as if it's going to be another one of those forgettable season's for the struggling franchise.
Man of the Match: It was a toss up between the inspirational Brumbies skipper, George Smith and his Wallaby teammate, Mark Gerrard. Smith was superb on the day, but for his try and five conversion, Gerrard scoops our Man of the match award.
Moment of the Match: The audacious chip kick from replacement hooker Huia Edmonds that lead to Stephen Hoiles' try.
Villian of the Match: Brumbies wing Francis Fainifo for his senseless spear tackle on Berrick Barnes after the whistle had sounded that resulted in a yellow card.
The Scorers:
For the Brumbies:
Tries: Gerrard, Chisholm 2, Alexander, Playford, Hoiles
Cons: Gerrard 5
Pen: Gerrard
For the Reds:
Try: Humphries
Pens: Schifcofske 2
Teams:
Brumbies: 15 Julian Huxley, 14 Mark Gerrard, 13 Sanualio Afeaki, 12 Tyrone Smith, 11 Francis Fainifo, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Patrick Phibbs, 8 Stephen Hoiles, 7 George Smith (captain), 6 Mitchell Chapman, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Adam Wallace-Harrison, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Nic Henderson.
Replacements: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Peter Kimlin, 19 Julian Salvi, 20 Joshua Holmes, 21 Peter Playford, 22 Afusipa Taumoepeau.
Reds: 15 Chris Latham, 14 Digby Ioane, 13 Morgan Turinui, 12 Chris Siale, 11 Clinton Schifcofske, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 Will Genia, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 David Croft, 6 John Roe (captain), 5 James Horwill, 4 Van Humphries, 3 Rodney Blake, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Greg Holmes.
Replacements: 16 Sean Hardman, 17 Dayna Edwards, 18 Ed O'Donoghue, 19 AJ Gilbert, 20 Ben Lucas, 21 Peter Hynes, 22 Quade Cooper.
Referee: Paul Honiss (New
Zealand)
Touch judges: James Leckie (Australia), Daniel Cheever (Australia)
Television match official: Steve Leszczynski (Australia)
Assessor: Andrew Cole (Australia)
