Brumbies 37 – 10 Rebels
31st May 2014 Ground: Canberra Stadium
The Brumbies shrugged off some tough recent contests and returned to form with this 37-10 thrashing of the Rebels.
Fly-half Matt Toomua scored two first-half tries, together with others from full-back Pat McCabe and Scott Sio to give the Canberra-based Brumbies a 25-3 half-time lead that they never looked like surrendering.
Despite a better performance from the visitors after the break, they could never cope with the Brumbies’ pack, spurred on by skipper Ben Mowen and prop Ruan Smith, who saw to it that their backs had plenty of quality ball from which to take their opportunities.
Jason Woodward slotted over a penalty for the Rebels’ sole score before the teams turned around, though Sam Carter took the home side further ahead with a try just two minutes into the second period.
With Ben Alexander yellow-carded the Brumbies were a man short when Scott Higginbotham pulled a try back for the Rebels, right under the posts, but a Jack Debreczeni knock-on when attempting to score just three minutes later denied them the chance to give the home side a late scare.
The Brumbies confirmed their superiority a minute from full-time when, after working through the phases, Leon Power got over in the corner for his team’s sixth and final try.
The win keeps the home side in the hunt for the play-offs and possible honours, though the Rebels continue to search for some consistency in their performances and on this evidence the season’s end cannot come soon enough.
The scorers:
For the Brumbies:
Tries: Toomua 2, McCabe, Sio, Carter, Power
Cons: Lealiifano 2
Pen: Lealiifano
Yellow card: Alexander
For the Rebels:
Try: Higginbotham
Con: Woodward
Pen: Woodward
–
The teams:
Brumbies: 15 Pat McCabe, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Clyde Rathbone, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Nic White, 8 Ben Mowen (c), 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Fotu Auelua, 5 Scott Fardy, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Ruan Smith, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 JP Smith, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Leon Power, 20 Jordan Smiler, 21 Michael Dowsett, 22 Andrew Smith, 23 Jesse Mogg
Rebels: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Male Sau, 13 Tamati Ellison, 12 Mitch Inman, 11 Tom English, 10 Bryce Hegarty, 9 Ben Meehan, 8 Scott Higginbotham (c), 7 Scott Fuglistaller, 6 Colby Fainga’a, 5 Luke Jones, 4 Caderyn Neville, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Pat Leafa, 1 Toby Smith
Replacements: 16 Shota Horie, 17 Cruze Ah-Nau, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Hugh Pyle, 20 Jordy Reid, 21 Josh Holmes, 22 Jack Debreczeni, 23 Tom Kingston
Date: Saturday, May 31
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Kickoff: 19:40 (local, 09:40 GMT)
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant Referees: James Leckie (Australia), Will Houston (Australia)
TMO: Peter Marshall (Australia)
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