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Brumbies buck Canes to join Kiwis in semis

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Brumbies buck Canes to join Kiwis in semis

A gutsy Brumbies ensured Australia’s presence in the Super Rugby Pacific semi-finals with a 35-28 takedown of the in-form Hurricanes on Saturday, joining Kiwi heavyweights the Blues, Chiefs and Crusaders.

The Brumbies scored five tries in frigid Canberra to snap the Canes’ six-game streak, and the reward is a semi-final in Hamilton against the table-topping Chiefs, who suffered a last-gasp 20-19 defeat to the defending champion Blues.

Despite losing, the Chiefs still advanced to the semis, and kept home advantage, as the highest-seeded loser under a controversial playoff system.

The Blues travel to Christchurch to face the Crusaders, who opened the elimination round with a 32-12 win over the Queensland Reds on Friday.

“It felt good to earn ourselves another week,” said skipper Allan Alaalatoa, one of four Brumbies front-row forwards to dot down. “We knew it was probably going to take everything we had. I thought it was a much-improved effort from last time we played them.”

A fifth-minute try from fullback Ruben Love after a free-flowing move set the ‘Canes on their way, but the Brumbies quickly struck back when hooker Billy Pollard finished off a patient trademark rolling maul.

They exchanged converted tries again before Pollard put the home side in front for the first time on the cusp of half time, again crashing over after a rolling maul for a 21-14 advantage.

The hosts extended their lead six minutes after the break when Tom Wright combined with Wallabies teammate Rob Valetini to slice open the defence.

A determined Hurricanes kept bouncing back, but a further converted Brumbies try from veteran prop James Slipper ultimately sealed the win.

In Hamilton, Josh Beehre scored a try after the final hooter to keep the Blues’ title defence alive.

Flyhalf Beauden Barrett added the extras in a dramatic finish to a game the Chiefs dominated before being over-run by their fast-finishing opponents, who only sneaked into the playoffs as the sixth and lowest qualifiers.

Both Blues tries came in the final 15 minutes after trailing 19-6.

Hooker Kurt Eklund burrowed over to get the Blues back in the contest before another substitute forward, lock Beehre, stretched out in the 82nd minute.

“There’s been a whole lot of ups and downs in our season so we’ve got to enjoy that kind of moment,” said Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu, whose side lost five of their first six games this season. “The Chiefs have been number one all season, they’ve pretty much set the tone.

“We didn’t want to draw too much on emotion tonight, we knew emotion would only get us so far. I’m glad we were able to grind it out in the last 10 minutes.”

Chiefs captain Tupou Vaa’i was unhappy his side couldn’t knock out a Blues team who beat them in last year’s grand final: “Definitely disappointed, I thought we had that game in the bag..

“I guess footy’s a strange game sometimes. You can start on a high and then it can humble you real quick.”

© Agence France-Presse

Photo: Mark Nolan/Getty Images


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