Brumbies 16 lost to Blues 30
Early scrum Blues push for an early try
It is late on a Saturday night in Canberra. Earlier this afternoon, the Brumbies and Blues faced off at Canberra Stadium with a 3:30pm kick off.
The partly cloudy day gave us hope that we’d avoid the threat of rain, which had been looming over the capital all day, possibly following on from a rainy black Friday the day before.
Crowd support came in numbers Speight’s try was inspired
A bright spot produced a turn over Line outs were quite successful
The game did not get off to good start for the home side, with the Blues taking early points after sustained pressure against the Brumbies line. The first ten minutes were brutal for the Brumbies, with all the possession and momentum leading the visiting team to a 14 point lead.
Finally, after some meaningless penalty goal (instead of building up pressure and keeping ball in hand) the Brumbies pushed onto the front foot on the back of a simply inspired George Speight solo effort try (from at least 30 minutes out).
The Brumbies took another penalty goal (BOO!) to bring the scores close, however they reverted to their earlier poor form (a costly turnover in Blues territory) and a slew of missed tackles leading to a costly Blues try before half time. At half time: Blues 21-13
The Brumbies missed 23 tackles in that half and had just 21 per cent possession.
The second half kicked off as the initial droplets of rain started to tinkle down into the stadium. Two minutes into the half and the Brumbies squander an opportunity to dig deep into Blues territory with a gutless penalty goal attempt from half way.
It misses, but the Brumbies get another shot two minutes later, a little closer to the posts, and it’s good. Things look to be going the home team’s way early in the half. Blues 21-16.
Sadly, that’s as far as the Brumbies got, they failed to score a single point in the next 36 minutes of play. Three minutes after Mogg’s last penalty goal, Weepu slots a gift penalty and the momentum is lost well and truly. Despite phase play, keeping ball in hand (for a change), the Brumbies squandered the remaining time left on the clock.
Costly turnovers gave the Blues back possession as the rain started to team down across the field. Those in the stands who dared, donned wet weather gear and persisted. Smarter patrons retreated underneath cover and watched helplessly via the television screens and monitors.
The Brumbies baffling strategy of kicking at every opportunity resulted in one of the worst games of Super Rugby I’ve had the displeasure of watching.
At fulltime, the scoreboard was bleak, Blues taking the victory 30 points to 16.
The Brumbies really owe the crowd (who turned out in numbers – 14,000+ – despite the cold and the real threat of rain) and their supporters a very humble and sincere apology for their absolutely shocking performance on the field.
Coach Jake White, whilst displaying brilliance in turning around the club’s performance needs to take some ownership for installing an inflexible game plan which put almost no pressure on the visiting team in the first half.
Some of the last dry football we’d see on the day
Based on today’s performance I really doubt that the Brumbies deserve to be in finals football. Were they to go up against a team like the Crusaders with their current form, it’d be a massacre.