I was at the game tonight, and it was one of those great rugby experiences. The ground sound effects are fantastic and should have been enough on their own to put an opponent off, but the Sharks were not to be deterred.
The crowd did everything it could to bring the boys home, and the lads themselves threw everything at the Sharks but the kitchen sink.
My take on the game was that it was a major arm wrestle, but the Sharks had us covered (if only just) in all departments.
Neither side could really break the other’s line, but the Brumbies made some unfortunate handling errors in the first half, and the ref a major mistake when he awarded a penalty to the Sharks near the post.
The Sharks took a quick tap, then committed a blatant knock-on and scored a try from it. It was missed by the ref and the touchy, but not by the slow-mo replay, and definitely not by the crowd!
Unfortunate, and probably a game changer. Nevertheless, the better team probably still won.
The Brumbies, 10 points down with two minutes to go, score a try under the posts and converted it. The clock was down to zero, but the ref called for the kick off, the Brumbies held the ball through many phases and ground their way up the paddock until, only twenty metres out, they spilled it and the Sharks booted it into the grandstand.
Nobody went home unfulfilled – it was a good effort. I thought that one or two Brumbies were slightly off the pace. McCabe played on the left wing, where I don’t think he looked comfortable, and probably didn’t come infield looking for work as much as he might have. When he did, he was always dangerous.
Tomane was the same on the right wing, and I kept hoping that Jake White would swap them over. Mogg had a great game at the back and scored one of the best tries of the season to date.
The team played a relatively safety-first game: not too many complex moves, Steve Moore gutsed it up the middle on many occasions, but nothing the boys did could break the defensive line of the Sharks.
Nic White was the replacement half and I was wishing that he could have been brought on earlier, as the backline needed someone darting from the rucks. Prior is a good half-back but he is not a darter, like White. It should have been horses for courses tonight.
It also occurs to me that as the Sharks are currently only third in their conference, (remaining there despite tonight’s win), that may be an indicator of the relative strengths of the conferences.
The Australian teams have not yet played too many of the South African teams, so we might be in for some interesting results.
Peter Breckenridge
Roar Guru
Great article Gatesy. I completely agree with you on the feeling content as i left. I really enjoyed the game, yes the Brumbies made a few mistakes. But, this year i expected as much. What i did like was the continuing never say die attitude. This is one of the crucial things missing over the past couple of years.
ilikedahoodoogurusingha
Guest
having looked at the replay a couple of times, the pass appears to be thrown flat, but the ball complies with Newton's First Law of Motion ie the ball continues to travel forward at the same speed as the passer was running so it appears to the observer, who is stationary, to drift forward and it is certainly made more obvious by the proximity of the 22 line .......I don't know how or where the draw the line as to what is flat, forwards or backwards in those circumstances. This is a continuous debate on ABC NRL coverage with Warren Ryan and David Morrow.
millard
Guest
gatesy,genia will win the brumbies game on his own.hes pumped to go .those darting runs from fringes and free kicks will be the difference imo
CrockyCrocky
Guest
Regardless of whether it's Laurie or Jake coaching a major difference this season to the past three or four years is the distinct lack of egos within the player ranks. They actually look like a team now rather than a group of stars 'doing it for themselves'. Go you "Baby Brumbies"!!!
Uncle Eric
Guest
Shame the pass to Mogg was forward by about 2 to 3 metres though. From memory the linesman was about 6 or 7 metres in front of the play.
gatesy
Roar Guru
For mine, the try of the season, so far!
gatesy
Roar Guru
Thanks, mate!
gatesy
Roar Guru
I was high in the Western stand, so didn't see that. Fair call.
AndrewCT
Guest
If you're talking about Mcleod's tap and go failure under the posts, that was not a knock-on. He taps the ball and let it hit the ground without touching it with his hands so there was no way that he could have been seen as knocking it on. The commentators even say as much!
bmwwilliams
Guest
Agree here Justin - More generally, I think the Brumbies lacked a bit of intensity in some areas compared to previous weeks. Although it's a tough ask asking them to perform at the same level as vs. the Highlanders every week, they allowed the Sharks to get over them a bit at the breakdown. The other area this showed was in finishing off the good opportunities they created in the opposition 22- Culminating in the intercept try that killed them off, while trying to spread the ball round the opposition instead of charging straight through. Personally, I can forgive almost anything when I see them playing with the heart of last week. Hopefully they can be back to their best vs. the Reds.
Brett McKay
Expert
I've not heard that said at all Johnno, and at any rate, I'd like things to remain just as they are now, thanks all the same..
Johnno
Guest
Brett do you want laurie Fisher back as head coach of Brumbies. Some say he will take over if White leaves.
Brett McKay
Expert
spot on Dingo, and I reckon that's Laurie Fisher putting a bit on Muster mongrel into the forwards in general. In fact, the forwards look a lot more cohesive as a unit, and I reckon that's the benefit of a good forwards coach not having to worry about anything else..
Justin
Guest
There was a 14 point turn around with the Sharks intercept of Toomua's pass... that hurts.
DingoBob
Guest
Brett actually I think the Brumbies scrum is the most consistant of any of the Australian teams so far this season.
sixo_clock
Roar Guru
A case of too far to go too late. The end was exciting to watch but not enough good Rugby leading up to it. Should help to draw more fans though. Nice writing Gatesy.
Brett McKay
Expert
Nice one Gatesy, though it was probably a game the Brumbies didn't deserve to win, if we're honest. Maybe karma from the first couple of lucky wins caught up to them. There's no question they're a better team already than any in the last three or four years, but they're still very young, not that experienced, and are essentially learning as they go. The wins they've had have certainly helped build the character of the team, and there's no way in hell a Brumbies team of the last five years could have taken the ball from a free kick in their own 22 after the siren and push it upfield for five minutes and 15+ phases like they did on Sat night. White's infulence becomes more obvious every week, and one obvious trait is that they're already the best exponents of the rolling maul in Australia, and that's going to be a good thing going forward. The second half of the comp involves a lot of away games, and some games against likely competition favourites, so as good as the Brumbies have been so far, things are only going to get harder..
steve.h
Guest
As it sometimes happens in South African rugby the hooker assumes the roll as a fourth loose forward. Thus Bismarks role is that of a openside flank ( one of the highest turnover stat in the comp.) allowing for selection of three hard loose forwards
ilikedahoodoogurusingha
Guest
Taking the positives out of the game, we could have won that with relative ease if we could keep our error rate down. I for one am still quite happy, the "Baby Brumbies" will learn a lot from that experience that will only make them a better team in the long run. As bad as I feel for Matt To'omua ( a long time personal favourite at the Brumbies), if there is any upside for the side overall its that I believe Jesse Mogg can have his contract upgraded......at the moment he is on the extended squad roster, and is only there as injury cover. What a find he has been this season.
mitzter
Guest
I was pleased to see some counter rucking and just goes to show the emphasis this year on players staying at their feet at the ruck has given dividends