Super Rugby: Brumbies top Australian conference
Last Updated: 16/07/16 1:45pm
The Brumbies topped the Australian conference and booked their place in the quarter-finals with a 24-10 win over the Force in Canberra.
Converted tries from Matt Toomua and Tevita Kuridrani as well as a penalty try gave the Brumbies a half-time lead of 24-10, and after the second half played out scoreless, the home side held out to claim a relieving win.
The Waratahs could have ended up at the summit of the Australia standings with a win in their match on Friday, but the Sydney-based outfit slumped to a 34-28 loss to to the Blues to leave the door open for their rivals the Brumbies, and the 2004 Champions duly obliged with victory at GIO Stadium.
The only Australian side to make it through to the next stage of the Super Rugby competition, the Brumbies will face the Highlanders in the quarter-finals, after the defending champions beat the Chiefs 25-15 in Dunedin earlier in the day.
The Brumbies went into the match against the Force knowing they could afford to lose the match and still finish ahead of the Waratahs if they gained a bonus point, but they never looked like losing against the injury-ravaged Force, who were outgunned in almost every position.
Despite outscoring the visitors three tries to one, the Brumbies will know they need to improve markedly when they host the Highlanders next weekend.
"They are the defending champions, but the positive is that it is at home in front of our fans," Brumbies co-captain Christian Leali'ifano said.
"We're excited about the challenge, we've just got to stay focused and we'll see what happens next week."
The Force began with plenty of commitment and dominated the early stages, but were unable to break through the solid Brumbies defence. It took 20 minutes for the first points to be scored, a penalty from Leali'ifano, but the points came regularly thereafter.
Toomua crossed under the posts for the Brumbies' first try to make it 10-0 after 25 minutes, and the Force hit back with a penalty to Ian Prior and a 60-metre try from winger Ben Tapuai to level things up.
However, the rest of the first half belonged to the home side, whose scrum was in total control.
Referee Paul Williams awarded a penalty try after a collapsed scrum on the Force tryline to make it 17-10, before visiting centre Kyle Godwin appeared to have brought his side back into it with a try three minutes from time when he latched onto a kick ahead from Dane Haylett-Petty.
However replays concluded that the midfielder was in front of his full-back when the kick went up, ruling out the try. Things then went from bad to worse for the Force when Kuridrani crossed under the posts at the very end of the first half to give the Brumbies a 24-10 lead at the break.
Worryingly for the Brumbies, they were unable to kick on as they struggled to make an impact in the second half.
"I'm glad that we got the win but obviously there were parts of our game that were really disappointing," Leali'ifano said.
"They're a tough defensive side and work really well for each other. It was tough to find cracks. They put pressure on us, which is really good heading into next week."
