Super Rugby round five wrap: ACT Brumbies loom as Australia’s best title hope after clinical display

THE Brumbies stamped their credentials as the pick of Australia’s bunch after five rounds in the Super Rugby season with a dominant 29-0 victory over the Reds.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 14: Henry Speight of the Brumbies attempts to break away from the defence of Will Genia of the Reds during the round five Super Rugby match between the Reds and the Brumbies at Suncorp Stadium on March 14, 2015 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

THE Brumbies stamped their credentials as the pick of Australia’s bunch after five rounds in the Super Rugby season with a dominant 29-0 victory over the Reds.

The Rebels were the only other Australian team to record a victory over the weekend, while Sonny Bill Williams was left with a sore head in Cape Town.

It’s all in our Super Rugby round five wrap.

BERNIE’S BRUMBIES DISPOSE OF REDS

There are many words that could be used to describe the Brumbies, but none fit quite like ‘clinical’.

Victory over the Reds on Saturday means that Stephen Larkham’s men have now won four from five this season.

If not for an 80th minute Aaron Cruden penalty goal in round two, the Brumbies would be undefeated.

The Brumbies ran in five tries to nil in their 29-0 victory at Suncorp Stadium and dominated just about every statistical measure possible.

Prop Ben Alexander bagged a double, while Stephen Moore, Ita Vaea and Christian Leali’ifano also crossed for a try each.

The Brumbies dominated possession and territory, determined to wear the Reds down in a patient and professional display.

Ita Vaea of the Brumbies attempts to break through the defence.

But it is the Brumbies’ defence which has caught the eye in the early weeks of the 2015 season.

After five rounds, the Brumbies have kept their opposition try-less three times. Two of those occasions have been against the Reds.

The two teams to have scored against them, the Chiefs and Force, managed just one and two respectively.

MORE MISERY AT BALLYMORE

Being drawn to play the Brumbies twice in the opening five rounds was never going to be easy for the Reds.

But a combined 76-3 losing margin from the two fixtures has exposed the glaring flaws in the Queenslanders’ play.

The Reds did not make a single line break in either game.

While the Brumbies’ defence was watertight, Richard Graham’s men were more like turnstiles, missing 28 tackles on Saturday night to compliment the 23 they missed against the same opposition a month ago.

These are not the only damning stats. Combined tackles made in both matches: 289 by the Reds to 159 by the Brumbies. Combined penalties conceded: 29 Reds, 14 Brumbies. Combined run metres: 1344-714 in favour of ACT.

The evidence in damning. The Brumbies have done a job on the Reds.

And while their other losses to the Highlanders and Waratahs were not as heavy, arguably both of those sides were wasteful with the ball in hand.

Next weekend’s bye will come as a welcome relief to the Reds. They are then gifted a round seven encounter against the Lions at the end of a four-week stint in New Zealand and Australia. That match will be season-defining.

Dave McDuling’s face says it all.

FUMBLING TAHS NO MATCH FOR HIGHLANDERS

If nothing else, a Waratahs match will always deliver excitement by the truckload.

Saturday’s clash with the Highlanders in Dunedin followed that script, with an early Waratahs lead scuppered by two tries either side of half-time by the Highlanders.

Michael Hooper and Nic Phipps combined for the first try, before that duo laid the groundwork for Matt Carraro to extend their lead by the 20th minute.

Both tries were vintage Waratahs, their fearless and fast-moving try leaving the hosts flat-footed and seemingly down and out.

Lesser sides would have dropped their heads, but not the Highlanders. They were ahead by half time thanks to a powerful Tom Franklin drive under the posts, followed by a brilliant one-on-one steal from Malakai Fekitoa, with the ball finding Waisake Naholo who dazzled the crowd with a 60-metre run down the touchline to score.

Ten minutes of madness after half time gifted the Highlanders a 26-12 lead and despite one last Waratahs surge, they could only manage one try in response through substitute Stephen Hoiles.

While it was an outstanding performance from the Highlanders who gave the Waratahs little room to breathe in attack, the visitors’ impatience in attack will be a cause for concern for coach Michael Cheika.

Despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession (59%) the Waratahs were forced into 13 handling errors and a number of loose-sloppy passes as they were unable to break the Highlanders’ line as they wished.

Now two from four in 2015, things won’t get any easier for the Waratahs this weekend when they take on the Brumbies in a Sunday afternoon blockbuster at Allianz Stadium in round six.

Waisake Naholo of the Highlanders celebrates his try with teammates.

REBELS WITH A CAUSE

Four points was all that separated the Force and Rebels on Friday night, but a 21-17 victory at NIB Stadium has revived the finals fortunes of the luckless Melbourne outfit.

After their opening round upset over the Crusaders, the Rebels came out on the wrong side of two close clashes with the Waratahs and Brumbies before their round four bye.

Tony McGahan’s men came out flying, with Mike Harris sliding through the flailing Force defence to score after five minutes before Mitch Inman busted the Force line in the 23r, handing off to Shipperley on the burst to open up an early 12-0 margin.

The Force barely fired a shot in the first half before Alby Mathewson caught his opponents inexplicably napping just metres out from their own line, crossing for the simplest of tries before the break.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA — MARCH 13: Steve Mafi of the Force gets tackled by Sean McMahon of the Rebels during the round five Super Rugby match between the Force and the Rebels at nib Stadium on March 13, 2015 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

An attritional war in the second half followed as Harris and Burton each slotted penalty goals to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

The Force looked the most likely to make something happen and finally they crossed through Tetera Faulkner in the 74th minute, but it was too little too late.

It was yet another case of the Force enjoying the majority of possession throughout the match (61%) but failing to convert.

They were given every possible chance by a Rebels defence that missed 31 tackles, but that number fails to give credit to the determination of the Melbourne side to hold on to their lead.

But the result made it four straight losses for the Force including three on the trot at home, with their slim finals chances appearing to have already slipped away at this early stage.

SBW KO’D IN SA

Those who burned the midnight oil in the early hours of Sunday morning were treated to an outstanding performance from the Chiefs who defeated the Stormers 28-19 in Cape Town.

But the Waikato side didn’t have it all their own way, with star code-hopper Sonny Bill Williams coming off second best in a painful head clash with Stormers hard man Vincent Koch.

Williams was tackled by Koch little more than 15 minutes into the clash, with his jaw being collected by the Koch’s rock-hard melon.

The game was halted as SBW was attended to and assisted from the field, only to return less than ten minutes later with a supposed clean bill of health.

Undefeated after four rounds, the Stormers were expected to give the jet lagged Chiefs a run for their money on their own patch.

And while the scoreline showed a nine-point differential, the Chiefs’ performance was an incredible turnaround from their loss to the Highlanders last weekend when they squandered a golden winning chance.

Nehe Milner-Skudder of the Hurricanes.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

Every team bar the Bulls were in action over the weekend. Here are the highlights of the remaining matches.

— The Hurricanes remain the only undefeated team in the Super Rugby competition, but were made to work for their points against the Blues. Julian Savea scored a double as the fancied outfit scored a 30-23 victory, leaving the Blues rooted to the bottom of the table with no wins from five matches.

— The Crusaders stacked their side with All Blacks firepower and mauled the Lions 34-6 in Christchurch. Coach Todd Blackadder named Colin Slade and Dan Carter at first and second five respectively and both appeared to regain some of their best form as the home side ran in three tries to nil over their South African opponents.

— The Sharks produced a solid performance to record their second win of 2015, defeating the cheetahs 27-10. The Durban outfit had won just one from four despite a favourable early-season draw, but were able to cross for an equal season-high four tries to get their campaign back on track.

Originally published as Super Rugby round five wrap: ACT Brumbies loom as Australia’s best title hope after clinical display