How good is this rivalry between the two best of the Australian Super Rugby teams here last night, as ACT Brumbies & Queensland Reds were neck in neck for the whole time through such a low-scoring match-up. Brumbies off to a great start with the three-point lead while the Reds bounced back not long later courtesy of James O’Connor, but it’s the Brums, who led the way at half-time, 10-7, before they managed to fend them off with the four-point win, 16-12. That means the Reds’ unbeaten run after four weeks so far in 2022 has now come to an end.
Unlucky from the Reds, where they endured a tough time against another elite Australian Super Rugby team in the Brums. They got the ball rolling with two tries on the board from James O’Connor in the 1st half & Josh Nasser in the 2nd half. Now the Reds may have overcome a different Tahs team by four points (16-20) back in Round 2 in Sydney, but not this time when the away side just couldn’t get past a powerful Brums defensive pack. It cost them penalty after penalty before the Reds rushed through things towards full-time, and unfortunately, it’s just wasn’t enough to upsurge the Brums in the last minute.
Meanwhile, well done to the Brums on another stellar performance last night on home soil. They got off to an early lead start via a three-point penalty goal, then JOC from the other end immediately struck back. However, they were just unstoppable as always in the attack, that helped the Brums re-gain the lead with patience. They also managed to maintain the momentum later on with plenty of opportunities with the ball. And looking at their defensive shape, the Brums frustrated the Reds attacking attempts with such a brilliant read, and that helped them maintain & hold off their winning margin against such another elite Australian Super Rugby side.
The Brums will now head to HBF Park in Perth next Friday night v Western Force at 7 pm local time/10 pm AEDT. Then it’s another State of Origin rivalry at Suncorp Stadium next Saturday night when the Queensland Reds host NSW Waratahs.