Brumbies boost play-off hopes
The Brumbies notched a 32-12 bonus point victory over the Reds to re-ignite their push for a Super 14 semi-final place.
Last Updated: 02/05/10 12:53pm
The Brumbies notched a 32-12 bonus point victory over the Reds to re-ignite their push for a Super 14 semi-final place.
Andy Friend's side bounced back from two defeats with a comprehensive victory in Canberra to move up to sixth in the table, just two points behind the fourth-placed Reds.
The home side won courtesy of tries from Mark Chisholm, Josh Valentine and a brace from Ben Alexander, with Matt Giteau notching two penalties and three conversions, while Quade Cooper replied with four penalties for the Reds.
The Brumbies will now be targeting victories in their final two matches against the Highlanders and Crusaders as they seek to make the play-offs.
The Queenslanders came into this game with history against them, having beaten the Brumbies just once in 14 attempts, and a winless record in the nation's capital.
And their cause was not helped when both locks Adam Byrnes and Rob Simmons were forced off inside the opening 25 minutes.
Problems
Byrnes limped with off with an apparent ankle injury before Simmons sustained a suspected fractured cheekbone.
While this helped the home side steal a series of Reds' throws, it was the powerful Brumbies scrum which caused the visitors the most problems.
The accuracy, speed and physicality of the Brumbies' multi-phase approach was directly responsible for their first two tries to leave the visitors trailing 14-0.
First Chisholm touched down two phases after a scrum, and 10 minutes later the home side extended their lead when Alexander crashed over, with Brumbies fly-half Giteau - back to his playmaking best - slotting home both conversions.
But the visitors clawed their way back into the contest with two penalty goals from pivot Cooper in the 26th and 33rd minutes.
Two more Cooper penalties after the break narrowed the deficit to two points, but the home side secured a deserved victory with further tries to scrum-half Valentine in the 56th minute and another one for Alexander seven minutes from full-time.
