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Brumbies end Reds' run

Sat, 01 May 2010 13:36

Artistry on display: Brumbies star Matt Giteau

The Brumbies ended the Reds' Super 14 dream run with an impressive 32-12 demolition of the men from Queensland in their crunch match in Canberra on Saturday.

Not only did the Brumbies keep intact their 100 percent record against the Reds in the Australian capital - the Reds have never won here - but the Brumbies also kept alive their own play-off hopes and ensured the run-in to the semifinals, over the night fortnight, would be even more intriguing.

It also ended the Reds' amazing run this season, which included victories over both the Bulls and Stormers - as well as a useful tour of South Africa.

The Brumbies, playing with lots of vigour, effectively shut down the Reds' main strike weapons - Wallaby halfbacks Will Genia and Quade Cooper. In fact, Cooper had a forgettable game, as Wallaby teammate Matt Giteau totally dominated their head-to-head battle.

The end result was a four-tries-to-nil shut-out by the Brumbies - who closed to within two points of the fourth-placed Reds on the Super Rugby table. Ironically the Reds, who moved up to third after the Crusaders' loss on Friday, dropped back to fourth because of the large defeat.

Reds captain Will Genia admitted his side "lacked a bit of spark... energy in the beginning".

"I think we struggled all game with the line-outs, and losing our second row forwards didn't help," Genia said of losing Adam Byrnes and Rob Simmons to injuries inside the first 25 minutes.

Byrnes limped off with an apparent ankle injury, while Simmons fractured a cheekbone. The injuries left the Reds line-out in disarray, with the Brumbies stealing a series of Reds throws.

"As you can see by the score, we were outplayed," added Genia.

Prop Ben Alexander's second try - his third try double this season! - in the 74th minute sealed the win for the Brumbies on the scoreboard, but in reality the game was over as a contest long before that.

"If you work hard and you get off the ground quickly, you put yourself in with opportunities," Brumbies captain Stephen Hoiles said afterwards.

"It's nice to get four tries. We just knew we had to put them under pressure. It was a massive defensive effort."

Brumbies lock Mark Chisholm crossed for a try in the 13th minute and Alexander 10 minutes later, each coming after Hoiles opted for attacking scrums on the Reds' line rather than penalty goals. Wallabies flyhalf Matt Giteau converted both.

Quade Cooper put the Reds on the board with penalties in the 26th and 33rd minutes.

After the Reds defended for 11 Brumbies phases to end the first half, Giteau pushed a penalty wide in stoppage time that could have given the home side a 17-6 lead at the break.

Two more Cooper penalties after the half-time break narrowed the deficit to two points, but the Brumbies put the match away with further tries to scrumhalf Josh Valentine in the 56th and Alexander's in the 74th.

The Reds play the Hurricanes next weekend, before a home match against the Highlanders.

The Brumbies play the Highlanders at home next weekend, before travelling to Christchurch, New Zealand, for a final round-robin match against the seven-time champion Crusaders.

Man of the Match: Brumbies No.10 Matt Giteau won his one-on-one duel with Quade Cooper and also gets our vote as Man of the Match in a superb victory for the former Super Rugby winners.

The scorers:

For the Brumbies:
Tries: Chisholm, Alexander 2, Valentine
Cons: Giteau 3
Pens: Giteau 2

For the Reds:
Pens: Cooper 4

The teams:

Brumbies: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Andrew Smith, 12 Tyrone Smith, 11 Brackin Karauria-Henry, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Josh Valentine, 8 Stephen Hoiles (captain), 7 Colby Faingaa, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Mitchell Chapman, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Ben Alexander.
Replacements: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Ben Hand, 19 Michael Hooper, 20 Patrick Phibbs, 21 Robbie Coleman, 22 Ed Stubbs.

Reds: 15 Peter Hynes, 14 Brando Va'aulu, 13 Will Chambers, 12 Anthony Faingaa, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia (captain), 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Daniel Braid, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Adam Byrnes, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Jack Kennedy, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements: 16 Sean Hardman, 17 Greg Holmes, 18 Ezra Taylor, 19 Jake Schatz, 20 Ben Lucas, 21 Ben Tapuai, 22 Luke Morahan.

Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Nathan Pearce (Australia), Damien Mitchelmore (Australia)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)

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