Brumbies stay ahead of Reds

Updated June 30, 2012 22:00:44

The Brumbies maintained their five-point buffer at the top of the Australian conference following a 28-17 victory over Western Force in Perth.

Tries to Jesse Mogg, Ben Alexander, Henry Speight and Zac Holmes in the first term meant the Brumbies secured the bonus point before half-time, allowing them to maintain their lead on the conference standings ahead of Queensland.

They sit on 54 points, with the Reds trailing in second place on 49, having collected a bonus point themselves when they beat the Rebels 32-17 in Melbourne on Friday night.

The result dampened the Force's hopes of posting a win in Nathan Sharpe's final appearance for the franchise on Australian soil, although the home side deserved credit for their fight-back in the second half.

They trailed 22-0 at the break but tries to Nick Cummins (two) and Toby Lynn kept the Force in the contest until Holmes slotted his second penalty goal late in the piece.

The first 16 minutes could not have possibly gone worse for the Force or better for the Brumbies with tries to Mogg and Alexander, and then flanker Matt Hodgson went off injured for the home side.

From there it was a procession for the Brumbies with two more first-half tries to Holmes and Henry Speight to have the bonus point sewn up but the Force would not go away in the second half.

Cummins' double and Lynn's try had the Force just eight points down but the Brumbies held on for the crucial win.

It was only three minutes into the match when the Brumbies flexed their muscles with Mogg collecting a pass from Holmes, easily getting through Cummins and David Pocock, around Ben Seymour and crossing for the try.

Prop Alexander then cruised through Richard Brown and Will Tupou to make it 12-0 after 11 minutes when Holmes converted for his only successful kick of the first half.

The score was locked on 12-0 for 18 more minutes, but the Brumbies finished the first half with tries to winger Speight and fly half Holmes, who gave a beautiful dummy and then stepped through a lacklustre defence to set up their half-time advantage.

But the Force did not lie down and winger Cummins held his ground out wide on two occasions in the first 10 minutes of the first half to cross for tries.

Then Lynn grounded the ball from a rolling maul in the 67th minute and David Harvey converted, the Brumbies led just 25-17 and then opened the lead to the final 11 points with a penalty from Holmes in the 73rd minute.

The Brumbies now finish their season against the Waratahs and Blues, while the Force cap off another disappointing campaign with a road trip to New Zealand to face Blues and Crusaders.

Brumbies: 28 (J Mogg, B Alexander, H Speight, Z Holmes tries; Holmes con, 2 pens)

Force: 17 (N Cummins 2, T Lynn tries; D Harvey con)

ABC/AAP

Tags: rugby-union, super-rugby, sport, perth-6000, canberra-2600

First posted June 30, 2012 21:25:54

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Lealiifano injured as Brumbies forge ahead

Updated May 05, 2012 23:02:37

The Brumbies extended their lead in the Australian Super Rugby conference by grinding out a 23-6 victory over the Waratahs but lost fly half Christian Lealiifano to injury.

Lealiifano slotted 13 points from three penalties and conversions of tries by winger George Speight and centre Andrew Smith either side of half-time but was forced off in the shadows of full-time with a serious right ankle injury.

Brumbies captain Ben Mowen says Lealiifano's suspected season-ending injury dampened what had been a solid victory over the Waratahs.

"It's a little bit of a sour point on what was a really good night's performance," Brumbies captain Ben Mowen told Grandstand.

The Brumbies moved to 35 points on the table, nine ahead of the Waratahs (26), who are now ninth overall and in danger of missing out on the top six play-offs.

Each of the three conference winners advance automatically with the three teams with the next best overall records also qualifying.

"We spoke about getting our spacing right and being really aggressive off the line and we did that well in patches," Mowen said.

"But to keep them tryless, I thought the scrambling (defence) was the best thing."

The match proved a tight struggle characterised by bone-shaking collisions in the tackle, with Waratahs hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau twice lying prone on the ground after heavy knocks.

The second forced him off before half-time.

Such was the atttritional nature of the match that when the half-time hooter sounded, the only points had come from two penalties apiece to Lealiifano and Waratahs' half-back Brendan McKibbin.

The Brumbies, however, who had made more effective use of their possession kept the ball alive after the hooter had sounded and Speight crossed after 11 phases to give the hosts a 13-6 lead at the break after Lealiifano converted.

The Brumbies again took advantage of the Waratahs' lapse in concentration shortly after the break when Smith crashed over and with Lealiifano's conversion the home side took a 20-6 lead.

The home side's defence also kept the Waratahs inside their own half and forced errors from the visitors.

The Tahs also played far too deep and were easily stopped before the advantage line and had little punch to their attack out wide.

Brumbies: 23 (H Speight, A Smith tries; C Lealiifano 2 cons; 3 pens)

Waratahs: 6 (B McKibbin 2 pens)

Reuters/ABC

Tags: rugby-union, super-rugby, canberra-2600, sydney-2000

First posted May 05, 2012 21:27:16

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Reds ahead of Test ambitions for McKenzie

Updated January 21, 2012 09:25:20

Super Rugby-winning coach Ewen McKenzie has put a desire to build a Queensland Reds dynasty before his Wallabies ambitions by re-signing until the end of 2014.

McKenzie, who has transformed the Reds from cellar-dwellers to champions in just two years in charge, has agreed to extend his contract by an extra 12 months.

The surprise extension has serious ramifications on a national level with Wallabies coach Robbie Deans's contract expiring at the end of 2013.

McKenzie looms as a natural successor, especially after Australian Rugby Union boss John O'Neill admitted in October he featured extensively in the governing body's succession plan.

But the Queensland Rugby Union believes New Zealander Deans will again be reappointed after the British and Irish Lions tour in two years time "unless the wheels fell off".

QRU chief executive Jim Carmichael and chairman Rod McCall, though, indicated McKenzie's extended deal would not necessarily preclude him from ascending to the national coaching post.

"That's a fair way down the track and there would have to be a fair amount of dialogue that all parties are involved in to allow the delivery to be right for the game," Carmichael said.

McKenzie said the motivation behind his decision was to finish the job he had been recruited for - leaving a legacy for what had been a fractured code in Queensland's highly-competitive sporting market.

"There's an attraction to be around and see that all through," he said.

"We are only in control of our own environment and we've done a good job in the last couple of years but there's still a lot of work to be done."

While the 51-Test former prop is highly-regarded as Deans's heir apparent, due to the Reds' attacking style as well as their success, McKenzie stressed there were no guarantees in sport.

"Rugby is a moveable feast," he said.

"One thing I know about coaching, you've got to be the right bloke at the right time.

"We can only deal with what we know right now."

It is his second contract extension and means he will be in charge at Ballymore for five years - the same length of time he guided NSW until 2008 - by the end of the deal.

McKenzie has twice before been well positioned to coach Australia, knocking back the post in late-2005 to stay on with the Waratahs, and being overlooked in favour of Deans two years later.

With half the Reds squad coming off contract this year, including star halves Will Genia and Quade Cooper, the new deal for the popular mentor is certain to help retention efforts in the face of extra salary cap pressure.

Two of McCall's first calls as chairman in September 2009 was to appoint McKenzie as Reds coach and Carmichael as CEO and they have swiftly pulled the QRU out of the mire.

Queensland finished fifth in 2010 and attracted healthy crowds on the back of an expansive game plan, before winning 15 of 18 matches last season to claim the Super Rugby title.

The transformation has seen membership grow beyond 23,000 - more than cross-code rivals the Broncos, Roar and Lions - and the average attendance climb to 33,000 to have the QRU on the brink of regaining full control of their finances after two years of ARU support.

AAP

Tags: super-14, rugby-union, sport, australia, qld

First posted January 21, 2012 09:25:20

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Battered Tahs banking on big month ahead

Posted April 24, 2011 18:50:00

Drew Mitchell's horrific season-ending leg injury has been compounded by the likely losses of the Waratahs' two most damaging forwards as they walk a Super Rugby finals tight-rope.

Wallabies winger Mitchell underwent foot surgery in Brisbane on Sunday afternoon which was expected to confirm initial forecasts his 2011 World Cup dream had been sadly shattered.

At the same time, the Waratahs flew back into Sydney following the painful 19-15 loss to Queensland with hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau (shoulder) and number eight Wycliff Palu (hamstring) in serious doubt for Saturday night's clash with the Melbourne Rebels.

Both Test forwards suffered recurrences of lingering problems that have plagued them and may be given extra time off over the next three to four weeks to ensure they properly recover before the business end of the season.

New South Wales (28) slipped 11 points behind the table-topping Reds and six points out of the top six with their first Templeton Cup loss in seven years, but do have home games against three bottom-half sides and a bye in the next month.

But the loss of Mitchell, arguably the form winger in the country, is a massive blow.

He screamed in anguish as his right foot stuck out on a 90-degree angle before medics could sedate him and put his ankle back in place.

"His form has been outstanding and to lose a quality player like him just adds to the list we've accumulated this season," Waratahs coach Chris Hickey.

"We have some depth there and we'll just have to dig into that.

"We're just halfway through the competition ... and we have a block of three home games which we have to make the most out of before we go to South Africa (to play the Sharks and Bulls)."

While Higginbotham should have been penalised for a professional foul, NSW opted against citing the Reds number eight as his intent was not malicious.

Queensland also suffered some significant battle damage with Digby Ioane (facial laceration) and Ben Daley (broken nose) in doubt for Saturday night's match against the Hurricanes in Wellington.

Both Rod Davies (knee) and James Slipper (collarbone) also look unlikely to return after missing the grudge match.

Reds coach Ewen McKenzie denied his side's "special" victory had allowed it to steal the baton from the Tahs as the country's premier provincial outfit.

"They've been the form Australian team for the last six or seven seasons, they've dominated Australian rugby and been the most consistent side, so to knock off a team like that you are going into new territory," he said.

"I think we've made progress. On the basis of Saturday night it's pretty tight and given they've been so consistent you can't say the baton's been passed, but at least we're showing we're in contention and that's a good space.

"The wins that change history a little bit, they're important.

"We'll enjoy our moment and move on."

-AAP

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