Jesse Mogg scored his 4th try of the season as the Brumbies dazzled in the 1st half
before holding off a late charge from the Waratahs to win 28-23

by Brendan Bradford –

Poor execution was the Waratahs’ downfall as the Brumbies earned a nail-biting 28-23 victory in a brutal encounter at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night.

Outmuscled and out-enthused around the ruck and unable to unlock the fast rushing Brumbies defence, the Waratahs came off second best as the home-side overcame a slow start and the sin-binning of two players for their third win of the season.

“I didn’t think we played poorly, we just didn’t seem to have the flow we needed, then a few things went the wrong way and they got a few scores and we found ourselves behind,” said Waratahs coach Michael Cheika.

For all the early season hype around the Waratahs’ attacking flair, it was a stark reminder that rugby games are won up front.

Dead-Eye: Bernard Foley slotted 13pts with the boot but it wasn’t enough to rescue the game for the Waratahs
Photo: karenwatsonphotography.com.au

“They came up and put pressure on us, and when we were trying to get going with our attacking play they were coming hard at the rucks,” continued Cheika.

“They got into the back of our rucks, we didn’t have command of that area and it’s so important to get the flow of the game to have good placement for your halfback to get out on the front foot to get that pass out in front. So what you saw was a few bobbles; that allows the men on the outside to come up and put pressure on our attack.”

The Waratahs were dominant in the opening ten minutes, scoring two penalties, kicking for touch from another and bossing the stats sheet while the Brumbies battled to get into the match. Halfback Nic White got the home side on the scoreboard with a penalty before a drastic momentum shift quickly put them out to an 11-point lead.

From an attacking scrum, Tevita Kuridrani burst onto a short ball, bent the line and recycled quickly. As the Tahs defence followed the sweeping Brumbies backline to the left, White sniped to the right off the back of the ruck and scored under the posts for a 10-6 advantage.

The Brumbies were in again just a few minutes later through a Jesse Mogg try that was a throwback to his best form from last year. From a lineout on halfway, the Brumbies spread the ball left and, faced with a sliding Waratahs defence, Mogg chipped into the in-goal and won the footrace with Israel Folau to the ball. The TMO confirmed the put-down and the home-side were ahead 17-6.

Foley hit the posts with a third penalty attempt but made no mistakes with an easier fourth shot to narrow the gap to 17-9 just short of the half hour mark.

On Song: Nic White played a starring role for the hosts

With an easy run to the tryline awaiting, Foley and Peter Betham couldn’t combine for the last pass after Adam Ashley-Cooper found space down the left wing with seven minutes to play in the half.

The Waratahs’ scrum had battled all night and White added another penalty in the shadows of halftime for a 20-9 lead at the break.

The Waratahs lifted the tempo after the resumption, getting good go-forward through opportunistic off-loads and some strong Tatafu Polota-Nau runs but couldn’t add to their tally as White missed a drop-goal, kicked two penalties for touch and Ben Alexander broke the line to give Kuridrani an easy run to the line for the Brumbies third.

Flyhalf Matt Toomua was sin-binned for the hosts as the Tahs worked their way back into the contest off the back of a succession of penalties. The Brumbies looked to have cleared their lines when Pat McCabe put a huge hit on Kurtley Beale but it was ruled an early tackle and the Tahs redoubled their attacking efforts. Michael Hooper was the beneficiary of some quick pick-and-goes to score near the posts and reduce the deficit to 25-16.

The Brumbies seemed out on their feet as Wycliff Palu was held up in-goal after driving from the back of an attacking scrum and Ruan Smith was yellow-carded shortly after Toomua returned to the pitch.

The Brumbies had kept Israel Folau under wraps for 75-minutes, but with an injection of fresh legs from the bench and the home-side again down to 14, the Tahs fullback created something out of nothing to break the line and beat the cover defence to score in the right corner. Foley added the extras for a two-point ball game.

However, with outside back Andrew Smith packing down at No. 8, the Brumbies won another scrum penalty 38-meters out with a minute on the clock, giving White the chance to seal the win 28-23 and deal their conference rivals a reality check in the process.

ACT Brumbies 28 (Nic White, Jesse Mogg, Tevita Kuridrani tries; Nic White 2 cons, 3 pens) defeated NSW Waratahs 23 (Michael Hooper, Israel Folau tries; Bernard Foley 2 cons, 3 pens) Attendance: 17,106