Pete Samu tops the list who never stops working hard back & forth throughout the afternoon at No.8 for the Brumbies. He’s so destructive every time he adds so much meat going forward that led to a couple of tries along the way, with most of them coming from the driving maul thanks to these winning penalties. He also kept the Blues quiet defensively including that 80th minute tackle on Bryce Heem before 1-2 of his own men backed him up by shutting down that opposition attack which confirmed his team’s win v v one of the best NZ sides. Looks like he’s going to be the main man to help win some trophies for Australia not just for the Brumbies but also the Wallabies if he can keep up every week. Nice to see him win at his hometown place too since he was born in Melbourne who has been such a great host throughout this weekend’s Super Round.
Next up is fellow Brumby who also gained some Wallaby experience in none other than Lachlan Lonergan. His throw-ins has been excellent as always since he made the No.2 hooker position of his own now since the departure of Folau Faingaa to the Western Force. That way, he can take his time where Lachlan talked up really well when it comes to orchestrating these driving mauls while hiding the Gilbert ball, before he & his side got past the Blues danger zone 1-2 times. He’s also good at covering up & forming a wall defensively too that left the Blues ran out of puff at their own end, even though both sides didn’t score anything in a quiet 2nd-half.
And Beauden Barrett has been front & centre at No.10 (fly-half) for the Blues. He controlled his sides’s attack well earlier on with exceptional playmaking & leadership skills that helped them put the pressure back onto the Brumbies. Plus, he‘s happy with these winning penalties where Beauden gave the Blues an extra boost via a couple of his three-pointers between the sticks. Sadly, he was let down later in the 2nd 40 when he gave them a few attacking chances to help finish up the work for him. But then lack of his numbers saw the Blues struggle to overtake the Brumbies, even though they were five points behind before it was simply too late.
