Super Rugby: Blues defeat Brumbies 34-20 in semi-final
For the third straight season, the Brumbies have been knocked out in a New Zealand semi-final, the latest victims to a shocking statistic for Australian teams playing across the ditch.
The 22-year Kiwi curse continues.
For the third straight season, the Brumbies have been knocked out in a New Zealand semi-final, and the pain for Australian teams across the ditch in playoffs continues.
No Aussie team has won a Super Rugby playoff game in New Zealand, and that statistic will remain unbothered after the Blues prevailed 34-20 over the Canberra team.
But it could have been much worse, if not for the fight in the Brumbies squad after they went down 24-7 after just 22 minutes.
It looked as though the Blues were destined for a half century score, but the Brumbies rallied to outscore the hosts for the remainder of the game.
Still, it wasn’t enough. And again, the Super Rugby title will be contested between two Kiwi teams as the Hurricanes battle the Chiefs in the second semi-final on Saturday to determine the Blues’ opponents.
Ironically, it was the Brumbies of 2003 who played the first Super Rugby playoff match in New Zealand, against the Blues at Eden Park. They lost 42-21, with Carlos Spencer and Mils Muliaina running amok.
And while current replacement halfback Taufa Funaki attempted a Spencer-like over-the-head kick, this result was set up by the Blues forwards, namely Hoskins Sotutu and Akira Ioane.
They did what they’ve consistently excelled at in 2024 under coach Vern Cotter, dominating the collisions and hit-ups close to the ruck.
Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham bemoaned at halftime how passive his defence had been, and in the end the big lead they gave up was the difference.
The Blues led 24-6 after just 22 minutes.
“You can’t give a side like that ascendancy at the start of the game,” Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa said.
“You can’t give them that lead early in the game.”
It wasn’t an ideal lead-up. The Brumbies lost veteran prop James Slipper in the warm-up to a calf injury, and he was replaced in the starting team by Rhys van Nek.
Three easy tries in the opening 14 minutes set the tone for the Blues.
From the opening moments of the game, the Blues mounted phase after phase across both sides of the field before centre AJ Lam pounced on a bounce pass from five-eighth Harry Plummer after just 105 seconds.
Noah Lolesio kicked a penalty minutes later, but the Blues had crossed for their second in the eighth minute when hooker Ricky Riccitelli barged over at the back of a rampant rolling maul.
Another Lolesio penalty goal proved of little value when Blues lock Sam Darry powered over from close range with weak Brumbies defence.
Dropped balls and lost possession at the ruck compounded the Brumbies’ woes.
In the 22nd minute, winger Caleb Clarke was in for the home team’s fourth against the run of play.
Star Brumbies backrower Rob Valetini pulled his side back into the contest with a strong pick-and-go try close to the line five minutes before halftime. Lolesio’s conversion made it 24-13, a flattering score given the Blues’ pure dominance up to that point.
But Plummer nailed a 47 metre penalty goal just before the siren to make it 27-13 at the break.
There was a gruelling arm-wrestle after halftime as the Brumbies attempted to climb back into the contest while the Blues relentlessly defended their raids.
Both teams were guilty of poor ball security, and it wasn’t until Sotutu’s 60th minute try that the first points of the half were recorded. The backrower snatched a ball the Brumbies defence had ripped off a Blues attacker to fall over the line.
At 34-13 with a quarter of the match remaining, the Brumbies were merely playing for respect.
Unfortunately, their ball control began to falter and their scrum was soundly dominated.
Somehow, they mounted a solid attack in the 68th minute and after a few near misses, Luke Reimer managed to score from close to the ruck.
Trailing 34-20 with 10 minutes remaining, the Brumbies needed everything to flow their way, but from the kick-off they conceded a penalty for playing a man in the air, as Clarke was hit by Nick Frost.
While referee James Doleman was happy with just a penalty, television match official Chris Hart reviewed the incident, and Doleman sin-binned Frost.
With 14 men and a 14-point deficit, the odds against the Brumbies were far too great.
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