Brumbies batter lacklustre Chiefs
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The Brumbies beat the out-of-sorts Chiefs with a clinical 41-23 bonus point victory in Canberra on Friday.
A massive clash on ANZAC day saw the top of the Australian conference Brumbies take on the top of the New Zealand conference Chiefs in a fast pace affair.
The home team took the honours 41-23, scoring five tries to two as they cemented their spot in the top three of the overall standings.
The Brumbies looked to get things underway early on in the match through Christian Lealiifano's boot after Brodie Retallick was penalised for not releasing the player.
It was a poor strike which left you wondering why Nic White had not retained the kicking duties?
The Brumbies were left to rue that missed shot as it was Anscombe who struck next for the Chiefs as he slotted a penalty to get the first points in the game.
Lealiifano soon got over his nervy kicking start with a simple penalty from right in front for the Brumbies thanks to Nick Crosswell who was penalised for a breakdown infringement.
Penalties continued to be traded a quarter of the way through the game, But Anscombe could not take the lead for the Chiefs as his long range kick swerved out wide.
But he was able to make amends as the Chiefs began to look more lethal on attack when the flyhalf took a penalty from right in front to give them the lead.
The visitors had started stringing together some passes and offloads which were clearly piling the pressure on the Brumbies.
However, it was the Brumbies flyhalf Matt Toomua who was the hero of the first half as he barged over the line to get the first try of the game as well as his first try of the season – Lealiifano then added the extra two points.
Lealiifano stretched his teams lead just before the halftime break with another penalty kick.
Discipline was the real downfall of the Chiefs in the first 40 as the Brumbies led by 13-6 at the break.
The Chiefs were straight back into it after the secondhalf whistle as Anscombe put on three points with an early penalty kick.
The Chiefs momentum did not last long, the Brumbies struck back hard with a try that was snuck in the corner by Joe Tomane after some great backline play off the kickoff; Mogg with the assist after some great hand from the fullback.
Things just could not go the Chiefs way, even with them throwing everything into attack and really showing some flair as a final pass found its way into opposition hands withTomane's sprinted down field.
Tomane was tripped up by James Lowe and the ref had no choice but to dish out a yellow card.
This allowed Nic White to get his first shot at goal from a long way out, the penalty added salt to the wound as a yellow card and 12 point deficit seemed to spell the end of the Chiefs.
The flood gates had well and truly opened now as Tevita Kuridrani took advantage of the extra man sliding through three defenders for the third try for the Brumbies in the corner.
Kuridrani got his second try soon after, again using the space left by James Lowe's absence.
Nic White took over the kicking from a rusty looking Lealiifano and nailed the conversion after the bonus point try.
White had really gotten into his stride as he added another penalty kick, piling more and more points onto the Chiefs.
The Brumbies had clearly fallen asleep as they looked to sit on their lead, this gave replacement Chiefs scrumhalf Brad Weber the opportunity to dance his way towards the line and dot down for the Chiefs first try.
An easy conversion from Anscombe, but it was too late for the New Zealanders.
Another Chief's come-back looked to be coming, but it was far too late even with Hohneck managing to get over the line with less than two minutes remaining on the clock – Horrell added the conversion.
In fact, it was to be the Brumbies who were to have the last word as an interception from Ruan Smith after the hooter saw him send it to Toomua who got his second of the game ending it at 41-23.
Man of the Match: The Brumbies half back pairing really led the home team with precision, Nic White's kicking was also devistatinf when he took over from Lealiifano. But the award must go to Matt Toomua for his two tries and excellent command of the game.
Scorers
For the Brumbies:
Tries: Toomua 2, Tomane, Kuridrani 2
Cons: Lealiifano, White
Pens: Lealiifano 2, White 2
For the Chiefs:
Tries: Weber, Honeck
Cons: Anscombe, Horrel
Pens: Anscombe 3
Brumbies: 15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Joe Tomane, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Robbie Coleman, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Nic White, 8 Ben Mowen (captain), 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Jordan Smiler, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Scott Fardy, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Siliva Siliva, 17 Ruan Smith, 18 JP Smith, 19 Jack Whetton, 20 Tom McVerry, 21 Michael Dowsett, 22 Andrew Smith, 23 Pat McCabe.
Chiefs: 15 Tom Marshall, 14 Tim Nanai-Williams, 13 Andrew Horrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Augustine Pulu, 8 Liam Messam (captain), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Nick Crosswell, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Ross Filipo, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Mahonri Schwalger, 1 Pauliasi Manu.
Replacements: 16 Nathan Harris, 17 Jamie Mackintosh, 18 Josh Hohneck, 19 Matt Symons, 20 Tevita Koloamatangi, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Dwayne Sweeney, 23 James Lowe.
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees: Rohan Hoffmann (Australia) , Andrew Lees (Australia)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)
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