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Stephen Moore scored two tries from well constructed rumbles to lead the Brumbies to a thumping 43-24 bonus point win over the Reds in bitterly cold Canberra last night.
The Brumbies’ six tries were emphatic, even though the Reds contributed to their defeat.
“I’m pretty proud of the boys,” was Reds skipper James Slipper’s take.
Is that a fact? How about the Reds’ 29 missed tackles, and 17 turnovers?
The Reds led 10-nil, and would have gone into the break at 10-all had Reds halfback Nick Frisby found touch from a penalty.
Inexcusably he didn’t, and the Brumbies swept 75 metres to score well after the siren to lead 15-10.
But the Brumbies weren’t too flash either.
With 60 per cent possession, and 60 per cent territory, in the first half, they should have scored a lot more points.
The Reds were denied a try at the beginning of the second half. Add that to the late first half Frisby mistake, and the Reds virtually threw in the towel.
So the Brumbies have screwed the Waratahs who play on Tokyo tonight against the Sunwolves.
The Waratahs must win by at least three tries, and rattle up a cricket score to keep the for and against points difference in favour of the Brumbies, in sight.
On that performance last night, it was great to see Moore, Scott Fardy, and Tevita Kuridrani considerably lift their performance bar compared to their weak Test efforts against England.
Brumby locks Rory Arnold and Sam Carter kept their names in front of Wallaby coach Michael Cheika. Both were standouts in the lineout, especially Arnold who won a lot of uncontested ball.
But possession is possession, no matter how it’s won.
The tireless Liam Gill made one mistake in 80 minutes, a knock-on in the 64th.
For the remaining 79 minutes and 58 seconds Gill was a non-stop thorn in the Brumbies side whether it was defending, attacking, or pinching possession.
Gill could be forgiven for thinking he was born at the wrong time.
If there was no David Pocock or Michael Hooper, Liam Gill would be the first choice Wallaby number seven for as long as he wanted to play.
But he’s off to Toulon in a fortnight for two years, and no-one could blame him for making the most of his career financially.
Being a permanent bridesmaid wears thin after awhile.
But there were three Reds’ forwards who held their own last night.
Apart from being penalised in the first minute, 19-year-old Lukhan Tui made an strong impression in his first run-on appearance. He’snot afraid of the hard toil.
Wallaby lock Kane Douglas came off the bench in the second half to make his first appearance since the Rugby World Cup final.
A serious knee injury required long surgery and rehab, and he even though he was obviously short of match play conditioning, it was a start in the right direction.
But the Reds newcomer to really catch the eye was chunky prop Taniela Tupou, like Lukhan Tui a member of the recent Australia under 20 World Cup squad.
He replaced the injured Greg Holmes and immediately gave the Reds a stronger scrum, with the icing on the Tupou cake a try with a minute left on the clock.
The only way for the Brumbies to lose the leadership of the Australian Conference is to go to sleep over the next two rounds,
And that’s not going to happen.