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ACT Brumbies

2025 Super Rugby Season Qualifying Final: Blues snatch last-minute win v Chiefs who will also stay on as the lucky loser but not so much by Hurricanes to ACT Brumbies

by Sports Benches June 7, 2025

Can you believe it from the Blues? They’re somehow still in it thanks to their last-gasp win over the Chiefs on the Chiefs home front at FMG Stadium in Hamilton.

Hats off to reserve second row Josh Beehre on his staunch defensive and attacking efforts at the centre of tackle that turned into a game-scoring TRY with Beauden Barrett continues to put in some crucial performances including a mix of creative & conversions at the starting 10.

Unlucky from Chiefs who got away with winning penalties but just couldn’t hold on sometimes – more about a physical game than just trying to score big. Look out for quick Daniel Rona on the outside 13 making excellent runs and threats too and Blues didn’t see that coming with Rona causing damage and he’s got another one coming up for next Saturday’s semi-final.

Off to Canberra and the returning tighthead Brumbies 3 Allan Alaalatoa churns in those performances from defense to attack and yet he’s stood tall.

Meanwhile, Andy Muirhead runs rockets on the wide right 14 that the Hurricanes weren’t able to do and what more can you say about him? Just unbelievable from someone who still continues to be ignored by the Wallabies & hopefully him taking on the Lions would surely convince Joe Schmidt to put Andy on the green & gold.

And looking on the Hurricanes when they no longer able to go any further? Their attack looks one-dimensional & don’t forget they defended poorly too with the long game. Gotta say Ruben Love knows how to pull off magic from the back with his hands, running legs and the boot of the tee – it’s a shame things didn’t work out with lost balls & errors here and there.

Now the 2 x semi-final match-up will be a bit like two years ago with the Crusaders v Blues first on Friday and then Chiefs v Brumbies next Saturday in Hamilton.

Nothing much will change and the same will go with Brumbies who will be front and centre once again for fourth straight year.

However, for the Brumbies to try and go one better assuming they advance to the Grand Final, they better dominate those ball retentions by taking advantage of the points that Chiefs would struggle to grasp like we saw earlier tonight v Blues.

They are the only side hang in there hoping to win back a championship that Australian Rugby has long wanted since way back when.

June 7, 2025 0 comment

Rugby

2025 Super Rugby Season Round 16 Friday: Chiefs finish regular season on top v Highlanders and Crusaders close out match on time v Brumbies in Canberra

by Sports Benches May 30, 2025

Tupou Vaai’s got power on the Chiefs second row 5 with tries and exceptional ground work while Damian McKenzie at 10 unleashed his need for speed at counter-attacking plays and kicks for goal as well.

Message sent with the three qualifying final games to start next weekend.

Timoci Tavavanawai at 12: a quick thinker, shifter & finisher- not the Highlanders year in 2025 but here to make things count.

Then in Canberra, Crusaders back rowers punched above their weight v Brumbies like starting blindside 6 Ethan Blackadder who did a bit of everything in the first half, and No.8 Christian Lio-Willie pushing and pulling against all stops all game.

Unlucky to Brumbies who didn’t have much ball in the first half when their late bid wasn’t quite enough but Tom Wright from the back always involved that the Crusaders wasn’t able to do on its own.

Chiefs simply unstoppable with their goal-scoring ability that sets the challenge for all over five teams to beat, having collected the regular season honours.

Highlanders, on the other hand, had some great moments that the home fans were proud of for the sake of this last-placed team – lots to look at in the off-season.

Back to Canberra as this Brumbies v Crusaders clash seeks realm like it was last year and many times before. Not saying it was the best of the Australian and New Zealand Super Rugby teams at this time when times have changed.

But still, Crusaders did enough to get over the line off the back of their strong hold forward pack & not so much from the backline, particularly when the loose ones stood out best despite hauling Ethan off.

I guess that’s to protect him who Crusaders need him most next weekend.

Brumbies wished they could have kept Crusaders under water off the back of their restarts that follows up with dominating the last 40 – just needs to work on their consistency and we might as well see the much better version this year.

Now the tables have turned to final round Saturday with three teams still in the hunt for the 6th and final spot:

Moana Pasifika
Blues
NSW Waratahs

This afternoon Tahs will be in Auckland v Blues then at 5pm AEST Moana Pasifika will look to make their first finals appearance in Wellington v Hurricanes.

It’s either Tahs win and Moana lose or Blues win and Moana lose or Moana win either way as long as it’s the win v Canes.

May 30, 2025 0 comment

Rugby

Rugby News, Brumbies took advantage of the Reds handling errors & so does Wallaroos over USA all happening on the one chilly night in Canberra

by Sports Benches May 17, 2025

Brumbies has just topped the Super Rugby table ahead of the two best NZ teams in this competition Chiefs and Crusaders thanks to their win against the other best team in Australia – Queensland Reds.

Both teams fought hard where they had to share the lead going into the break by 7-7 all but all of the other 40 towards the finish belongs to Brumbies hands down.

The way Reds slip up from ill-discipline to being willy nilly when trying to convert their attack into points allowed Brumbies to snatch the next few tries and that was something the Reds weren’t able to do by 24-14.

We also had a women’s test match as part of the Pacific Four series at the same GIO Stadium in Canberra with the Wallaroos and USA Eagles. USA weren’t bad other than some poorly timed errors with Hope Rogers cashing in a hat-trick of tries past the in-goal. However, expansive & positive rugby from the Wallaroos elevated them to the front row in cruise control by 27-19.

Top 3 players from Brumbies v Reds and Wallaroos v USA

Glad to hear that Tom “Tommy Turbo” Wright turbocharged his Brumbies attack where running rugby was in play on the front foot especially in the 2nd half. With Joe Schmidt watching on-site once again, here’s hoping Ryan Lonergan gets his chance to take on the Lions – he can do a bit of everything off the expansive and can also provide some handy kicking extras.

Reds, meanwhile, good in defense but not so much putting things together at times in attack, with Fraser McReight continuing to put in those hard yards. A good Finals run would surely help Joe choose Fraser over Tizzano with competition heating up for the Wallabies starting open No.7 shirt.

Going back earlier with the Wallaroos v USA, Ash Marsters also on the 7 continues to be at her best like it was off the bench v Black Ferns last week + Charlotte Caslick with her pace and little cross kicks gave us every reason why she wants to play at the World Cup later this year in England.

And on the Eagles, Hope Rogers’ hat-trick of tries at loosehead 1 lights up their confidence along the way. Bummer they made the wrong calls where Wallaroos took great care of the ball than USA, that’s all I can say & also shoutout to IIona Maher who has been everywhere from helping USA achieve Olympic bronze in the 7s last year in Paris to ABC’s DWTS.

May 17, 2025 0 comment

Rugby

Super Rugby 2025 Round 11 of 16: Hurricanes def. Brumbies 29-35 as NZ drought now over in Aussie soil at GIO Stadium

by Sports Benches April 26, 2025

It’s been a while but a NZ team has finally tasted victory on Aussie soil for the first time in 2025 after 11 rounds with five to go before Finals time with thanks to the Hurricanes who got away with the win over the ACT Brumbies in Canberra 35-29.

Both had their moments and struggles too along the way but again, Hurricanes have the upper hand this time where they got some good players coming back along with a functional attacking backline – particularly the starting left & right wingers where tries were made there.

For Brumbies, they’re still sitting 3rd behind the winning weekend teams Chiefs and Crusaders on the ladder which is good news. Chiefs won early last night v Force who were too good and so does the Crusaders earlier tonight v Highlanders.

But it’s going to be tough road from here when Brumbies will take on Dan McKellar’s Waratahs as the home side now back here at GIO Stadium next Saturday under the lights and they’ve lost the previous one last time in Moore Park.

The Race for Top 6 Finals: First four seems certain with 4-5 teams fighting so hard for places five and six

At least the road for the Top 6 is gonna be extremely tight especially the last two spots and you’ve got four if not five teams gunning for it before it closes after Week 16 and then the second lot of rides go from there with the lucky loser for semis.

Safe bets would be the Western Force and Waratahs over Hurricanes.

Then you’ve got Moana Pasifika also back on track at the right time thanks to Ardie Savea’s return to selection following their Pacific derby afternoon win over the 11th-placed Fijian Drua by 34-15.

Meanwhile, defending champions Blues?

Still a possibility who have the still flying Force next up at Eden Park on Friday after they were battered and bruised by the Reds last night.

And safe to say not so much for Highlanders unfortunately looking at their remaining matches of 2025.

Top players to watch tonight

Looks like we’ve got a World Heavyweight Championship contender Super Rugby version v ten others for that one prestigious belt representing the Hurricanes – Kini Naholo, brilliant stuff with two tries tonight on the left 11.

Xavier Numia made a big difference when he helped the Canes increase their lead on the reserve front row and great to see Billy Proctor back with a bang at 13.

Still more work to do but hey, Canes now back in Top 6 firing all cylinders from the wings as the first team to win on Aussie shores this season.

Brumbies, meanwhile, couldn’t do much defensively while they’ve lacked ball (should’ve gone all-in expansive) other than some quick plays and solid late momentum.

Nick Frost gave them a fighting chance (second row 4) where Brumbies could’ve done any better had the Canes continued to slip up more often like last Saturday v Force – bonus point better than nothing.

April 26, 2025 0 comment

Other Sports Motorsport Rugby

Top 5 sports items this week 24/4/25: Rodney Childers’ shock departure at Spire, Scott Parker’s links with Tottenham after PL promotion with Burnley, Super Rugby Round 11/16, Max Verstappen and Western Bears in NRL

by Sports Benches April 24, 2025

Bummer Rodney Childers won’t be back in the No.7 pit box but Spire ain’t backing down nonetheless with all three cars in & out of Top 16 to 20 drivers’ points.

There’s always time with the win and Playoffs still a possibility as long as it’s before September where Spire has the full backing of three talented and experienced drivers in McDowell, Haley and Hocevar.

Parker back to Tottenham?

While Burnley now back to the PL, Scott Parker might not be there because of Tottenham who could get rid of Aussie Ange even if he wins the Europa final.

Maybe it’s best if Scott helps Burnley win it all and see Leeds bottle it at the same time, then he can go considering he hasn’t been successful so far at this top level.

There’s even talk about Leeds wanting to sack Farke in order to avoid his curse record at PL level – looks like it will be advantage Parker for the title then.

Super Rugby: another golden week from the Aussie sides v NZ?

Super Rugby back for another week going the Australian teams away we hope after a few brilliant games including one that ended in a draw, although not so much for the Waratahs unfortunately v Fijian Drua away in Suva.

Yet, things could get even better if Reds, Brumbies and Force all beat their respective NZ teams in Blues, Hurricanes and Chiefs this weekend.

Perfect timing (mark that down) and as of Week 11 out of 16, still no NZ side win recorded yet at least on Australian soil.

Max Verstappen wants out of Red Bull?

Also, Max frustrated behind the scenes being the cut lone figure at Red Bull when McLaren in a Mercedes customer engine are leading the way via Oscar and Lando.

Would love to see him end up at Aston Martin with Honda engines + Adrian Newey again & Franco C. be the ideal one when RB have no other choice post-Max.

NRL finally has a Perth team with assistance of the North Sydney Bears

And last but not least, Perth will finally get a NRL team in a long time with credit to the North Sydney Bears.

That means, the Bears will be expected to play top-level Rugby League once again but looks like half of the games will be played at in Perth with other still going to be at the spiritual North Sydney Oval.

National footprint is important for all of our Aussie sports including rugby despite losing a team in Melbourne but gotta accept it’s the best fight right now in the bid for championships and series trophies.

The big weekend other than the off-weekend of F1 starts tomorrow on ANZAC day Friday before the second last round’s matches is on a bright Saturday night at 9pm and we round it off with the shuffling decks of Talladega come Monday AM.

April 24, 2025 0 comment

Rugby

2025 Super Rugby Season, Week 10 of 16: Brumbies outmuscled Moana Pasifika in the twilight afternoon with the 24-0 win

by Sports Benches April 19, 2025

It’s been one hell of a physical fight between Brumbies and Moana Pasifika in the suburban grounds of Pukekohe where nearly the first 40 were being scoreless until the Brumbies launched strike right here, right there on half-time. Meanwhile, Moana unable to counter it up front when a small gap becomes big and Brumbies get to keep their winning run as the clock ticks down towards full-time by only 24-0.

Don’t know what went wrong other than promising start from Moana there when Tana Umaga chose to rest Ardie Savea as the leader in the loose forward 8 – maybe they will want to save it for next Saturday v Drua in Fiji.

Regardless of that, Moana looked so hesitant thinking rain would help them win when their conversion play is a touch isolated, and Brumbies won all of these battles that they couldn’t do themselves.

Do understand the Drua’s home form though whose crowd is always so strong even though their 2025 run isn’t as good as they would’ve liked. But still, we saw a taste test of that earlier today when they defeated the Waratahs at their home ground.

Again, it’s a shame the Tahs don’t have that same tight-five grunt to tame Drua’s ferocious backline pace like it was in previous games including last week v one of the Top 3 teams in Chiefs – seems they were caught off guard until it was too late to catch up later on in that one.

Top 3 players

Rain, hail or shine or even under lights…what else Corey Toole cannot do on the wide left Brumbies 11?

His golden 100m track and field pace on a slippery field got away with back-to-back tries following a physical first 60 odd minutes & no doubt would want the gold medal by winning a Super Rugby title over the best New Zealand team for sure.

Then you’ve got Billy Pollard holding off line-out throws as the reserve 2 every time he turns up on stage to finish off a stunning piece of his own with two tries also & now he will be writing his next album when it comes to his starting Lions selection for the green & gold provided the Brumbies continue to keep on winning.

And Miracle Failangi’s physical punches on the blindside six gave Moana Pasifika every fighting chance considering his excellent performances so far in 2025 but shame these poor selections around him came back to bite them including an incoherent attacking third unfortunately.

April 19, 2025 0 comment

Rugby

2025 Super Rugby Season Week 9 of 16: ACT Brumbies has unfinished business now 3rd on the ladder following their 26-39 win over the Queensland Reds

by Sports Benches April 12, 2025

Tonight’s Reds v Brumbies match was full of physically-contested slides on the field like we see in ten-pin bowling with handling errors through a series of hits and misses being a key Achilles heel towards one team’s loss here and there.

The winner turned out to be the Brumbies by 26-39 who backflipped the Reds good start with a series of brilliant executions while maintaining a lot of ball that is good with their retention – something the Reds couldn’t hang on with their long game.

Now at this time of the year, the Brumbies are back in business this time sitting Top 3 behind the Chiefs (2nd) and Crusaders (1st). Speaking of this time, they want to be the ones to be the next Australian team to play in a Super Rugby final proper again after being outside Grand Finals best for a number of recent years now since 2022.

Although the regular season isn’t done yet going into Week 10 out of 16, here’s more you need to know also from elsewhere:

The resurgent Crusaders still currently standing up tall over everyone having successfully hold off the Hurricanes to begin Week 9’s share of games earlier last night in Christchurch by 24-31.
NSW Waratahs rejoice as the last earned Aussie Super Rugby champ at least in its proper comp that goes back to 2014 following their home win this time against a NZ team in the Chiefs by 21-14 also last night at Allianz Stadium in Moore Park.
Moana Pasifika’s bid for Top 6 will have to wait another time now after they were held back by the Auckland Blues earlier in the arvo by 36-17.
And Highlanders back on track from last Saturday’s loss v the Flying (Western) Force in Perth to a big win over the wooden spooners Fijian Drua prior to this game in Dunedin, 43-20.

Top players Pick

First up, Allan Alaalatoa – he’s a very important part of their front row props glue at tighthead 3 alongside former Red James Slipper on the other loosehead 1.

They both make up crunch time, every time and by outmuscling Reds, Brumbies exactly know what to do to keep on churning with their end goals at full speed.

Also a great time too to have Rob Valetini back on the blindside 6 from injury and Brumbies will continue to unfinished business & maybe in Grand Final this year.

And if one stood out for the Reds alone, it’s gotta be Hunter Paisami on the inside 12 where he too fought hard with a pack of punches off his shoulders thanks to his team’s good start. Unfortunately, they’ve messed things up tactically all over the place with lost balls/penalty caught by the ref, and Reds better be careful next time.

April 12, 2025 0 comment

Rugby

Thoughts on Rugby Australia’s TV rights contract extension that is now finalised with Nine and Stan between 2026-2030

by Sports Benches April 9, 2025

The decision has already been made yesterday as Nine and Stan now confirmed to stay on with Rugby Australia for another five years when it comes to the next TV rights contact that is set to start from next season (2026) to at least the end of 2030.

Here’s what we know so far:

All Super Rugby games will be aired on Stan Sport.
All Wallabies and Wallaroos games including the Bledisloe Cup, Rugby Championship (Stan only everywhere else that isn’t Wallabies) and the proposed Nations Cup/Spring Tour to be on both Nine and Stan.
All Club Rugby games both NSW Shute Shield and QLD Hospital Cup will also stay on Stan for at least the next two seasons with one main weekly Saturday afternoon game back on free-to-air also on Nine through 9Gem including Finals.
All other content they’ve got will also stay on only through Stan from Super W to U-16 and U-19 National Championships as well as Six Nations, Currie Cup, NZ’s National Provincial Championship and many more including the full All Blacks v Springboks 2026 (to SA) & 2030 (back in NZ) tours.
The final cost would be around $215 million ($43 million per season) with up to $30 million add-ons depending on the Wallabies and Australian Super Rugby teams’ successes over time.

So what’s missing? No Saturday night free-to-air weekly Super Rugby games.

That contract obligation they’ve got at the moment has now been removed starting next season onwards to aid with RA’s retention of keeping their top players away from lucrative overseas playing and money opportunities as Nine chose to give them more cash instead by swapping Super Rugby with all Wallabies and Club Rugby games returning on free-to-air TV.

Nothing much to do with increased ratings or exposure really, although there’s still a possibility that Nine could still air some Super Rugby games after all albeit at different times during the season.

It could only be key matches or even a mix of both Friday nights plus some Sunday afternoon regular-season games on what they call it flexible scheduling including one weekly finals on Saturdays, I don’t know.

But I hope RA and Nine with their paid streaming subsidiary Stan will find a way soon enough to keep Super Rugby on free-to-air at least in some way, so we don’t have to feel disappointed & not like it was in the past when there were no live Super Rugby games at all other than replays & highlights until 2021 all thanks to Nine.

Regardless of that, sure we are moving onto the right direction for the betterment of Rugby Australia, when Super Rugby is going well at the moment at the expense of our four Aussie teams along with the front row potential of winning it all in the green & gold Wallabies when we take on the British and Irish Lions as well as another Trans-Tasman contest later this year.

April 9, 2025 0 comment

Rugby

Super Rugby 2025 Week 6 of 16: Waratahs def. Brumbies 28-23 on what has been a bittersweet night for Dan McKellar against his old club as coach coupled with Max Jorgensen’s individual show once again at Allianz Stadium

by Sports Benches March 22, 2025

It’s been a top physical battle between two of the Australian Super Rugby heavyweights in NSW Waratahs and ACT Brumbies at Allianz Stadium tonight as Dan McKellar walked away against his old club in the battle of our country’s head coaches helmed by former fly-half Stephen Larkham with the 28-23 win and things are looking likely on the up right now sitting 4th out of 11th as of Round 6.

Sure, no denying the Brumbies’ expansive passage of play especially after half-time when they were right back in the mix with not much time left to go. Their poor start coupled with ill-discipline and ball retention under pressure towards the end was a bit too much to ask there while the Waratahs have simply found the bigger fish to fry with big points after big points & that’s how they’ve set the bar tonight.

Here’s what happened elsewhere prior to this match:

Chiefs still holding out strong having fended off a late threat from 11th-placed Moana Pasifika by 35-50;
Good to see the Reds end their 12-year away ground drought in Dunedin with the 23-29 win over the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium;
And the Crusaders continues to be on red hot form even though it’s been a while with that away win after they were too good v defending champs Blues at Eden Park in Auckland, 19-42.

Now there’s one more game to go to finish off Round 6 when the Western Force are back home at HBF Park v Fijian Drua tomorrow afternoon at 5pm AEDT – should be a good one at the same time happening a bit later with the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race from Shanghai (6-7.45pm).

Max Jorgensen is simply a class of his own off the back of his immense attacking and defensive contribution as always every now and then. Yes, some say he should be better off at full-back even with no Joseph Suaalii right now but he looks to be more suited on the wide left 11 especially you have top-class players around him – means a lot that makes his Rugby intel so great at all highest levels.

It’s just not the Tahs praising their own product of the Max, they are blessed to have one of the “Burn” boys in Rob Leota on the blindside 6. As a seasoned home grown Wallaby, he’s not just sound as part of the Tahs’ tough defense; he’s also destructive with his wrecking ball presence and with a Finals series already under his belt, he will wanna do that again this time with a semi or even a grand final.

Lastly, Len Ikitau has been cracking up Waratahs defenses all night long on the outside 13 where the Brumbies know how to light things up by building pressure in order to enable that explosive attacking creativity through the line that produced some brilliant moments via his guidance, especially in the last 40. It’s a shame their poor start plus the ill-discipline made their comeback bid so difficult unfortunately & that’s that.

March 22, 2025 0 comment

Rugby

Rugby today’s result: ACT Brumbies finally became the latest Australian Super Rugby team to win at Eden Park in a long time following a one-point ball game by 20-21 over the Auckland Blues

by Sports Benches March 7, 2025

Hats off to coach Stephen Larkham and the ACT Brumbies including Ryan Lonergan in particular (love his 2nd half performance btw) on what has been a close eyed thriller that saw an Australian Super Rugby team stand up tall on the grounds of Eden Park v the defending champs Blues from Auckland by 20-21.

It’s been a long time coming even though Brumbies may have lost recently against the Western Force at home & Chiefs last weekend in Hamilton when there’s a few out there in the treatment room like Rob Valetini. But they’re back in business now with lots more to tick off like climbing back towards Top 3-6 and staying there then a Grand Final appearance at last for a shot at the championship coming from an Australian Super Rugby team – watch this space!

Who knows what surprises will come out next between now and June but this is good for the Super Rugby competition and most certainly for Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies squad as well.

March 7, 2025 0 comment