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Tom Wright

Rugby

Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies continue to fly high v Wales once again with the clean sweep win by 20-52 at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium

by Sports Benches

Another week, another win by the Wallabies’ Green and Gold Army away from home this time being too good against Wales earlier this morning at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff by a mighty 32 points, 20-52.

They fired off well earlier on to give themselves a head start, although Wales weren’t far behind at the same time with a six-point gap between those two going into the break (13-19). 

But at the end of the day though, the Welsh still haven’t learnt their lesson with their 11th straight loss in recent matches – that goes back to the last pool stage game during the World Cup last year in France v Georgia. 

Meanwhile, the Wallabies continued to be a different beast which was a far cry their worst day out also from the World Cup also at the same time against this Welsh side under Eddie Jones of course. 

But safe to say that Joe’s Wallabies is flying high & there’s still two more games left in this Spring Tour in the hope of replicating their golden 1984 Grand Slam tour, with Scotland next up this weekend at Murrayfield before we round it off to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium the weekend after that for his Irish reunion against the No.1 ranked Ireland.

Who loves driving these tractor toys on his way towards scoring tries as if he’s looking after the farm? Well, what a rugby field day it has been from the hooker Matt Faessler after his unbelievable hat-trick haul off line-out and maul time for the Wallabies. Pretty sure he’d be a handy farmer to provide some good fruit & veggies as much him loving rugby and he handled this brilliantly every time the Wallabies were too good, especially when he plays for the Reds & also has played for Randwick before. Look out for Matty F more often in a very busy 2025 season.

There’s another hat-trick star in town at the streets of Cardiff and the turbocharged Brumby Tom Wright continues to be as good as it gets also in a Wallabies shirt from the back at 15. He at the right place at the right time as if the Wallabies let him start the car who has superior skillset handling like individual battles & most importantly, he has the extreme pace to pull off by surprise even from out of nowhere. What more does he want now? Beating Scotland next up and hopefully Ireland to finish the Grand Slam. 

And Cardiff’s Ben Thomas has been lighting up the Welsh inside 12 who can play 10, kick conversions & actually tops the midfield stocks out of both teams combined. He’s always so keen to attack as if he wants to win that dodgem carts contest so badly and he’s done that to help get over the line twice. If he was in a winning mentality, then surely we should see more trickery & skill out of his bag – especially with our home Lions tour coming up in a few month’s time. But that might not happen or even be trusted if he does makes it when the Welsh cannot simply hang him up to dry any longer & they still haven’t won for over a year now.

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Rugby Union Today: Wallabies break away from Georgia’s 2nd half improvements with the eleven-point win at Allianz Stadium

by Sports Benches

It’s been an excellent contest of International Rugby throughout the afternoon at Allianz Stadium in Moore Park between the Wallabies v the emerging Georgia team as we now turn our attention to the Rugby 7s over in Paris for the Olympics next week followed by another year of the Rugby Championship campaign that will begin early next month. 

Georgia opened the scoring first off the back of the three-point penalty goal but it was the Wallabies at home who dominated the first 40 including another set of tries right on half-time, 26-10.Second half saw Georgia improving their game at the restart where we witnessed two quick sensational tries that puts them back on track to the Wallabies radar at one point.

At the end of the day though, the Wallabies have held their lead baton through full-time with the 11-point win, 40-29. They benefitted a series of opposition handling errors & ill-discipline with no disrespect to Georgia, who gave them a hard time all along, as Wallabies now has three wins now so far in 2024 under the tutelage of coach Joe Schmidt. 

The Wallabies long-term back rowers are safe with Fraser McReight on the openside 7 following his A-game performance this afternoon v Georgia. He’s the go-to man who can lock up defenses every time the opposition lack numbers. Not only that, he has power of physical steel that makes a big difference with a few tries off the back of Georgia’s silly mistakes/handling errors, especially in attack having ensured the win for the Wallabies at the end of the day.

Then we have another Wallabies main man at the back in Tom Wright at 15. He knows how to make that attack flow as seen regularly with the Brumbies where he never stops running while Tom can smash the opposition blocks – all of this has been created so they can get the job done with both hands. That’s without saying this contest was a practice match v Georgia which wasn’t easy & he’ll make sure the Wallabies continues with the Rugby Championship set to begin next month.

And shoutout to Aka Tabutsadze following his sensational 2nd half display on the Georgian right wing at 14. You can’t underestimate his abundance on pace who can win these 1 v 1 battles from out of nowhere as if he’s competing in the 100m sprint Final – Georgia should get him on their Track & Field team now to Stade De France for the Olympics next month!!

Yes, he had some mistakes including the ill-discipline that forced the Wallabies hand at times but he won’t be short of suitors as better competition v the top teams more often including domestic level as they hope will make him & his country reach new levels – such as getting Tier 1 status so Georgia can look to crack the Top 10 rankings as well as the chance to play in the Europe’s elite United Rugby Championship competition in the long run. We’ll keep a good track on them as time goes by.

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Rugby

Wallabies are back in business that gave Joe Schmidt his first win on the job in Game 1 of 2 v Wales by nine points at Allianz Stadium 

by Sports Benches

What a night it has been for the Green & Good to walk away with the win v Wales at Allianz Stadium in Moore Park as they now retained the James Bevan Trophy ahead of their 2nd and final Test next Saturday at AAMI Park in Melbourne.

The first half kinda scrappy where Wales opened the scoring account first via the three-point penalty goal including a penalty TRY, but the Wallabies had a narrow three-point advantage off the back of their first TRY by Taniela Tupou in between two successful penalty goals from Noah Lolesio going into the break 13-10. Nothing much happened into the second half despite some glimpses of promise from the Welsh when they were not far away from the Wallabies radar for the lead. However, a series of missed opportunities in open play including an observation that denied them the TRY forced the Wallabies hand later on where it ultimately came back to bite them as Wales still yet to taste victory this year off the back of a poor Six Nations campaign. Meanwhile, Wallabies continued to maintain their dominant ball off the back of a receiving Wales kick & their poor conversion play where they found the gaps well with pace of nowhere that surprised everyone including the opposition team.

They went on to touch down decent tries through the wide channels courtesy of Filipo Daugunu and Tom Wright before the Wallabies won in the end for the first time in a while off the back of a painful 40-7 Wales loss at the World Cup in France last year that consigned to their first-ever pool stage elimination. The final score was 25-16 with the Wallabies win by 9 points.

Tom Wright kickstarted the new Wallabies year with the bang from the back at 15. He had a really great night in the way he supported his wingers that got the best out of him and his team with thanks to the dominant possession while Tom had excellent recovery ball including from up high to kick his way out of trouble as being tested defensively. But what made him so special is his explosive pace that wowed everyone from out of nowhere. He read that gap well where no one was Wales was able to stop him before Tom got the job done that finally got the Wallabies talking following their worst ever campaign throughout last year as he hopes to give them better days more often like he does to the Brumbies every week of the season.

Although yet to commit to a club next season after good year for the one & only good Rebels season, but Taniela Tupou did well to keep the Welsh quiet on the front row at tighthead. Every time the Welsh couldn’t the best out of their counter-attack in open play or bottled the ball down, Taniela’s there to turn things around thanks to his excellent read and brute physicality that turned out to be his side’s way for the majority. Plus, he never put a foot wrong with great patience thanks to the dominant possession before he left the field in great hands for the Wallabies to get the job done with the win. He made Wallabies supporters in Sydney had a good night, why not do that more often if he goes to the Waratahs? We shall see…

And Wales No.8 Aaron Rainwright did the best he can to keep the Wallabies in check. He’s the man who never stopped working hard while being brave to smash the Wallabies defense that opened up plenty of opportunities for his Welsh side to get over the line. But unfortunately, Wales just couldn’t cut it that frustrated their fans every time when balls go out into the full/touch – despite winning a few penalties. Plus, they had less ball on top of poor line-outs, discipline & defense which was very disappointing. Wales still needs get the job done in order to build on their 2023 World Cup run to the Quarter-Finals & not blow it out like it was before where constant chopping & changing isn’t enough to make them win matches more often.

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Brumbies looking to standout as the No.1 Super Rugby team now after a one-point win v Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium, 19-20

by Sports Benches

It’s been another close game to finish Round 6 of the 2024 Super Rugby Season, but this time it was between the 1st and 2nd best Australian Super Rugby teams right now as the Brumbies were able to shut down the Queensland Reds just in time ahead of the final hooter on their home turf once again (Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane) by just one point in the end, 19-20. The first-half was quiet with both teams opening their respective tries before Noah Lolesio snuck a successful penalty goal where Tom Lynagh couldn’t do for the Reds not long before half-time, 7-10. Yes, the Reds were able to get themselves back on track with a penalty TRY followed by another big score. But then they couldn’t stop a destructive Brumbies attack and also their scrambled defnese with plenty of mistakes being made under pressure and that was the game itself, with the Reds having to suffer another loss in recent weeks after losing to the Western Force last Saturday while the Brumbies took the win once again.

Tom Wright was outstanding from the back at No.15 tonight for the Brumbies following his two TRY performance at Suncorp Stadium v the Queensland Reds. He offers pretty much everything that you need to know every time he has the ball such as kicking out of trouble as well as his defensive contribution and most importantly in attack where he can beat his man 1 on 1 while getting the job done with blistering pace. Then Noah Lolesio put in an unbelievable performance in the No.10 Brumbies shirt whose conversion kicks has been spotless that gave them a slight advantage while prioritising for the best of the team. It’s so important for Noah to emphasise this which is so crucial for his team to spot the Reds isolated and scrappy attack before he was able to open up his attack easier and also in defense too, particularly through the latter stages of the 2nd half.

The Brumbies are still by far the best Australian Super Rugby team and it’s kinda a surprise not seeing them both play at the World Cup in France last year which was a disaster as new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt will look to get them back in the squad for the 2nd half of 2024. Now can they go all the way and stand themselves out as the best of Super Rugby this year? We’ll see having lost once to the Chiefs back in Round 2 (Super Round) but for now, they got the Waratahs next Saturday.

And Josh Nasser has made an immediate impact off the bench that puts the Reds back on track in the 2nd half – one was a penalty TRY followed by a TRY himself. He was able to correct some of the team’s mistakes from earlier on which was so crucial when the starting hooker Matt Faessler didn’t do well at line-out time but their scrappy discipline unfortunately allowed the Brumbies to bounce back before they were closed out under pressure with time running out against the clock at the end there. The Reds haven’t been bad which reflects their good start of the year but losing games isn’t a good look lately as they now got a break next week & then hopefully get back to winning games again starting with Moana Pasifika.

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Rugby

France vs Australia rugby: Result and final score as late Damian Penaud TRY won the game for France

by Admin

• Match ​ ​ : Australia vs France
• Series ​​ : Autumn International
• Venue​​ : Stade de France
• Time ​​ : Sunday, 6th Nov. 2022

The Wallabies led late after impressive tries from Lalakai Foketi and Jock Campbell, but Damian Penaud’s brilliance seized the win for the French at the death.

Points Summary

FranceAustralia
TriesTries
Penaud 75′Campbell 40′
Marchand 40′Foketi 17′
ConversionsConversions
Ramos 40′Foley 18′, 57′
Penalty GoalsPenalty Goals
Ramos 6′, 9′, 32′, 37′, 45′, 72′Foley 3′, 12′, 42′, 65′
Hodge 74′

• In a game that featured 33 points from penalty goals, the first of four tries saw Tom Wright fly down the left flank before putting Lalakai Foketi through to score as Australia raced into a 10-3 lead with a 100-metre effort. France rallied, though, and Thomas Ramos kicked two more penalties before Julien Marchand crashed over on the stroke of half-time.

• More penalties followed early in the second stanza before Jock Campbell found his way over in the corner to give the Aussies a 23-22 lead as Bernard Foley nailed the conversion. Ramos, Foley and Reece Hodge kicked further three-pointers and Australia led 29-25 with five to go when France threw the ball wide to the right.

• Penaud had played out a relatively quiet game, making half-breaks here and there aside from solid defence on the wing. But when he caught Matthieu Jalibert’s pass, he defied gravity, logic and the Wallabies’ cover defence to beat three before gliding over in the corner. Ramos couldn’t convert but France still had the lead, and they held it for three more tense minutes as the clock hit 80 to seal a one-point victory for Les Bleus.

Match Preview

  • The Australian team showed a good aggressive style of play in the first half. Then after the France team started scoring points, it was tight contest between the two sides.
  • At the end of the first half, the France team was leading by 16:19. After a tight contest in the second half Damian Penaud’s last minute goal won the match for France.

Wallabies will come back stronger

  • Any rustiness seen last week against Scotland was truly ironed out in this game as the Wallabies threw the ball around seamlessly and created many an opportunity to score with ball in hand.
  • Foketi’s opening try will go head-to-head with Penaud’s winner in the ‘try of the autumn’ stakes, and the more Australia play like that, the more likely they’ll be to finish on the right side of future contests.

France set standard ahead of South Africa visit

  • The tough tests don’t let up for France, with their match next weekend coming against the current Rugby World Cup holders, South Africa.
  • The Springboks are a tough test of physicality and skill for any side but if France want to be seen as true contenders to win their home World Cup in 2023, they’ll need to push the Boks as closely as they were pushed by the Wallabies here.
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All Blacks too good tonight in Game 2 of the 2022 Bledisloe Cup that extends another year of the Wallabies’ losing hoodoo for the 36th straight time at Eden Park

by Admin

By Daniel Cullinane

Twitter: @dcullinane02

It was a feisty build-up to this second test between New Zealand and Australia at Eden Park. All the talk had been about the controversial decision for time-wasting that ended the Wallabies chances of winning the Bledisloe cup in the first test. The reckless action of lock Darcy Swain, and the claims that the Wallabies had disrespected the haka. The potential for a heated contest was high.

Australia got the game under way and quickly put pressure on New Zealand with a break by Jed Holloway, who charged into the All Blacks 22. He quickly undid his good work by dumping Dalton Papali’i at the ruck. He was yellow-carded, and so began the rollercoaster of indiscipline that appears to be blighting the Australian game.

New Zealand on the other hand, were lifting their game and showing early dominance. A strong scrum saw All Black number 8 Ardie Savea break. The ball went wide to Beauden Barrett, who turned on the after burners and then chipped, to pile the pressure on the Wallabies. The All Blacks were awarded a 5 metre scrum but Savea was unable to control the ball at the base. Australia cleared their lines.

Then a moment of magic from Wallaby wing, Marika Koroibete. A break down the midfield followed by a chip, catch, and grubber to put huge pressure on the New Zealanders in their own 22. Again, the Wallabies infringed, leading to a kickable penalty for Richie Mo’unga. 3-0 to the All Blacks. Wing; Will Jordan soon built on the score with a fine break and subsequent try. Mo’unga made it 10-0.

Australia was creaking badly and the pressure was clearly affecting their thinking. Tom Wright confirmed this by taking a quick tap penalty from an eminently kickable position and an almost guaranteed 3 points. Another penalty by Wallaby skipper James Slipper led to a New Zealand lineout in the Aussie 22. Afterwards, a powerful maul forced a penalty try and yet another yellow card for Australia. David Porecki left the field for 10 minutes. Half time arrived and the score was 17-0; New Zealand were flying.

In the second half, the All Blacks carried on where they had left off. Within 2 minutes, they scored through captain Sam Whitelock. Mo’unga converted to make the score 24-0. The All Blacks had by now recognised that the Wallabies couldn’t live with them in the set piece. Again, they went to the lineout. Again they formed a driving maul and powered over the Aussie line. This time it was Codie Taylor on the scoresheet. The conversion was missed. 32-0 to the All Blacks.

At last the Australians fired a shot when Nick Frost charged down a New Zealand kick in their 22. Pete Samu collected the ball and surged forwards. Support came from replacement hooker Folau Fainga’a, who charged over the line. Bernard Foley kicked the conversion; Points on the boards. 32-7.

The All Blacks responded almost immediately with another pushover try from the lineout. Samisoni Taukei’aho the scorer.

In the 76th minute, Richie Mo’unga had another shot at goal to make it 40-7. The Aussies would have the final word in a very one-sided game when a determined Jordan Petaia forced his way over. The try was converted. The final score 40-14 to New Zealand. It was a dominant display from the men in black. Probably their best performance in the tournament.

The All Blacks were sharp, their set piece was outstanding, and they were clinical when they needed to be. Australia has some big issues to deal with. Their discipline has been woeful since their test series defeat to England back in July. They have spent large parts of the Rugby Championship playing with less than fifteen men on the field. Going forward, the lack of leadership is clearly a problem they must address if they are to be successful.

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Jordie Barrett’s last minute TRY for the All Blacks has all but ended the Wallabies’ bid to take home the Bledisloe Cup series for the 20th year in Game 1 of 2 at Marvel Stadium

by Admin

By Daniel Cullinane

Twitter: @dcullinane02

Even after the defeat by the Springboks in the last round of the Rugby Championship, the Wallabies would go into this match with quiet confidence. With home advantage against an All Blacks team who have looked shaky in this competition and beyond, they would have felt that they could get on top of their old rivals.

New Zealand would be in a better place after a resounding win against the Pumas, but there is still a sense that they are unsure of themselves. The Wallabies would seek to test the All Blacks alleged fragile state. The Wallabies set the tone for the game by advancing on the All Blacks during the Haka, signalling that they were really up for this one. However, as the game got under way it was the New Zealanders who took the initiative.

After just 3 minutes, All Blacks hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho powered over the Wallabies try line to open the scoring. Following a successful conversion from fly half Richie Mo’unga the score was 0-7. The men in blacks dominance continued and was rewarded with another 3 points from the boot of Mo’unga. They were building nicely. The Wallabies were yet to turn up.

After 17 minutes, some good work by the Australians from a lineout lead to a kickable penalty. Veteran Aussie fly half, Bernard Foley who was exemplary all evening opened his account with three points. Some slick handling saw Wallaby full back Andrew Kellaway score in the corner. But on closer inspection it was clear that he had been unable to ground the ball.

The Australian team were growing in confidence and starting to impose themselves on the All Blacks. They kicked to the corner after being awarded a penalty at the scrum. There was a short drive from the ensuing lineout and then a pick and go to score by Aussie No8 Rob Valetini. Foley made it 10-10.

With an All Black going to the bin, the momentum was firmly with the Australians. Marika Koroibete charged up the field and smashed into New Zealand wing Caleb Clarke. The Wallaby forwards then dismantled the All Blacks at the resulting scrum. Although the scoreboard didn’t reflect it, Australia were on top. But then, everything changed. The Aussies hit self destruct. A superb and powerful break by Clarke ended with a pile-up near the Australian try line. Indiscipline meant that Tom Wright and Darcy Swain were sent to the bin. The tables turned almost instantly, with the All Blacks being held up over the line. Half time came, the score 10 all.

The men in Black had clearly been told to take advantage of the 13-man Australia, and did so in spectacular fashion. A testing kick in behind and then some rapid passing saw Samisoni Taukei’aho score his second try of the match. Soon the Wallabies were back to a full compliment and picked up another kickable penalty. Foley rarely misses, making the score 13-17.

More indiscipline led to Wallaby scrum half Jake Gordon going to the bin. New Zealand soon took advantage with Richie Mo’unga dissecting the Aussie backline to touch down near the posts. He converted his own try, making the score 13-24 to New Zealand.

Beauden Barrett then reminded everyone what a world-class player he is with a superbly weighted chip over the gold defence that was collected by wing Will Jordan, who raced away to score. The All Blacks were in cruise control. Australia then fired a shot of their own down the other end with Andrew Kellaway running on to a flat pass from Foley to grab a much needed score. Foley converted. Minutes later, Kellaway was at it again. Some long passes stretch the New Zealand defence allowing the full-back to score in the corner. 27-31 to Australia.

New Zealand then extended their lead through a Mo’unga penalty, but Australia weren’t finished yet. A brilliant one-two between Koroibete and Pete Samu saw the back row forward score. Foley then drew the teams level at 34 all. A remarkable comeback by Australia.

When Australia were awarded a penalty in front of the posts, the replacement scrum-half Nic White stepped up and kicked the points for Australia to take them into the lead. As expected, the All Blacks fought back but then gave away a penalty 2 metres from the Aussie try line. Then a moment of controversy saw referee Mathieu Raynal award a scrum to New Zealand for Bernhard Foley allegedly time wasting.

The All Blacks saw their chance. They won the ball, and then moved it wide, allowing Jordie Barrett to score in the corner in the 80th minute. The kick was missed, but it didn’t matter. The men in black had done enough to win the match and retain the Bledisloe cup. Australia will say they were on the wrong end of a refereeing decision, and that cost them the game. Their discipline needs to be fixed before the return fixture. Final score 37-39. Great game.

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Rugby News Australia: England’s robust defensive work ended the Wallabies hopes of taking the Ella-Mobbs Trophy home at the SCG

by Sports Benches

It was one huge decider to look back from last night at the Sydney Cricket Ground when Australia went head-to-head against England for the series trophy, as they came into the field at 1-1 apiece after England bounced back last Saturday in Brisbane. The away team struck the first blow before they responded to Tom Wright’s TRY from Australia with a one-point lead at half-time, courtesy of Freddie Steward. Although, Australia kept themselves in the hunt within England’s radar thanks to Folau Faingaa off the bench. But at the end of the day, it has to be England when Marcus Smith capitalised a small lead with a wonderful intercept TRY before they tightened their defense that frustrated Australia in the end. The final score on what has been the final ever rugby union match at the SCG – 17-21 – as we look forward to move back to the all-new Allianz Stadium soon next door.

It’s not been the series ending the Wallabies wanted last night during the 3rd and final Test decider v England. Their first-half run wasn’t bad when they took note of the opposition’s ill-discipline thanks to Nick Frost on second row, before they got the ball rolling via his Brumbies team-mate Tom Wright. A few changes off the bench during the second 40, especially when Folau Faingaa kept the Wallabies hopes alive towards stealing the series away from the English. Sadly, they just couldn’t get escape the opposition’s robust defense under pressure while suffering lapses of inconsistency going forward – which led to lost penalties/turnovers. It’s that one huge weakness they need to work ahead of the Rugby Championship beginning with Argentina in a few weeks, even though they have to keep moving without a few key players from the treatment room.

Meanwhile, England retain the series yet again when they have now taken home the Ella-Mobbs Cup, which is the new trophy after the Cook Cup was retired at the end of last year that spanned for 25 years since its series inception back in 1997. They were glad to get away from their own ill-discipline at the beginning & touched down Australia’s inconsistent attack where England showed excellent fightback in the first half. Not only they opened the scoreboard via the three-point penalty goal, but Freddie Steward’s TRY in the 40th minute puts them ahead of Australia by just one point at half-time, 10-11. They later capitalised on their narrow lead with another three-pointer followed by amazing finish from fly-half Marcus Smith, before England put their bodies on the line defensively that stopped Australia from slipping past them in their tracks going into full-time.

As said earlier, the Wallabies are now preparing for the Rugby Championship going into August. These two games in Argentina will be a Stan Sport exclusive since they kick off at 5am AEST our time which is 4pm over there, so it won’t be aired for free as Nine/9Gem tends to broadcast Super Rugby and Wallabies games within here and New Zealand. I don’t know about the away Springboks games at around midnight when Australia last played in South Africa since 2019, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough next year. For now, there’s some Club Rugby to watch before Nine/9Gem airs the Wallabies games again when the Springboks come here at the end of next month.

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Rugby News, Top 3 players from the 3rd Test between Wallabies v England at the Sydney Cricket Ground

by Sports Benches

Courtney Lawes has definitely frustrated & stopped the Wallabies from slipping past his English side last night as skipper on the Blindside (flanker role). His defensive work was outstanding every time the Wallabies tries to get themselves going under pressure before Lawes stepped in & called in his troops to lock the ball up, so they (Wallabies) can’t continue under the referee’s watch. He can also be an excellent support player with so much physicality going forward while calling for cover to ensure that the ball stays with England, which led to winning penalties/advantages off the back of the Wallabies ill-discipline. It led to a sigh of relief when the Wallabies were unable to capitalise going forward, while celebrating the series win at the same time.

Next up is Jack van Poortvliet – who came on for Danny Care at half-back not long before half-time – and he too made an instant impact ever since in the No.21 England shirt. He has a very good talk up when looking at ways to get past the Wallabies while calling out for some support. They were able to keep themselves ahead thanks to the Wallabies messy discipline/play via the advantages & later winning penalties before keeping a close eye in defense to close out this deciding test match – including his TRY assist to his Leicester team-mate Freddie Steward that saw England lead Australia by one point ahead of half-time at 10-11. And like Freddie, he proved that he can translate these premiership-winning skillsets at International level, as JVP put England in a great position on the run home with the series trophy.

Lastly, Tom Wright never stopped running on the right wing, especially when he opened the Wallabies scoring account with Nic White backing up on his way through the TRY zone. A few fresh faces in the 2nd-half kept his side closer within reach of England’s radar – thanks to Folau Faingaa. Unfortunately, he just wished that he gets supported more often where he was being isolated in both attack & defense. It would’ve helped the Wallabies get ahead of England once more & capitalise towards the win they desperately needed.

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Rugby News, Brumbies 2nd-half resurgence kicked the Hurricanes out of the Final 8 as they battle the Blues in the semis at Eden Park next Saturday

by Sports Benches

We wrap the first week of the 2022 Super Rugby Playoffs with the fourth and last Quarter-Final tie between the ACT Brumbies and Hurricanes here at GIO Stadium in Canberra.

It was a crash and bash Opening 40 where both teams experienced a mix of infringements with Len Ikitau being sent off under a red card that gave a huge blow for the Brumbies, while Owen Franks had to sit ten minutes in the naughty chair when it comes to the Hurricanes camp.

Nonetheless, it’s the Hurricanes who has the lead at half-time, 15-22 – Having made an excellent start courtesy of Joshua Moorby’s double TRY before the Brumbies began to make up some lost time & fought back with also both tries of their own.

But the winning team that came on top is the Brumbies as they took their semi-final spot next Saturday v Blues for a shot towards a Chiefs or Crusaders Final at Eden Park in Auckland, NZ. They were eight points down at one point with 30 minutes to go before they took advantage of the Canes’ poor throw-ins and lost penalties that came back to bite them in return, courtesy of two Toms in Tom Banks & Tom Wright.

The final score here at GIO Stadium is Brumbies 35-25 Hurricanes.

Hurricanes was be gutted to be thrown out of the Final 8 by the best Australian Super Rugby team right now and not complete an all New Zealand Final 4 showdown. They got the ball rolling with two early tries & a couple of three-point penalty goals that gave them the advantage to build a lead and try to stay ahead. However, mistakes have been plugging through square pegs in a round hole where poor line-outs & continued lost penalties not only robbed their finishing opportunities with the ball, but it also spread to their defense where the Canes’ just let that slip away against a resurgent Brumbies attack.

And the only Australian Super Rugby team standing into the Final 4 belongs to the ACT Brumbies. They had to play 14 men for a while without Len Ikitau after his unfortunate red card earlier in the 1st half over a dangerous tackle on Aiden Morgan’s jaw. But not hope is all lost when the Canes also experienced some disciplinary issues that helped the Brumbies fought back with a seven-point trail at the break. Then a couple of fresh faces off the bench benefitted one way while they took advantage of the Canes’ missed opportunities going forward, as the Brumbies ultimately came out on top as the winning team.

Now the Brumbies on the cusp towards another Super Rugby Final where these supporters will be right behind them through every step of the way, whether they’re tuning in from home on Stan Sport/9Gem or travelling to Eden Park in Auckland by their side.

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