Match report: Final round heartstopper in Canberra against the Brumbies

It was a chilly night in the capital of Canberra for the last Super Rugby Pacific round robin game and a battle for 2nd and 3rd spot between the Brumbies and the Crusaders.  

The Brumbies got things underway with the kick-off, which Noah Hotham knocked on to give the Brumbies a scrum feed 15 meters out from the line.  

The home side made easy work of the early advantage and Feao Fotuaika claimed the first points of the game.  

A conversion by Noah Lolesio gave the Brumbies an early 7-0 lead.  

The momentum quickly swung the Crusaders way, and they hit right back when Christian Lio-Willie muscled his way through to find the line.  

The try was converted by Rivez Reihana to make it 7-all after eight minutes. 

Blackadder then showed his grit at the breakdown and got over the ball to win the penalty. Reihana opted for a shot at goal which he successfully slotted to give the Crusaders a three-point lead.  

The first of many kicking duels of the match ensued, before Sevu Reece decided to get involved and sent a kick down field for a 50-22. 

A strong run by Levi Aumua set the Crusaders up for their second try. After a few close bites at the line, Ethan Blackadder picked his time to plough over the line in his 50th Crusaders match to give his side an eight-point lead.  

The Brumbies immediately hit back as Rob Valetini gave a classy quick offload to Len Ikitau as Dallas McLeod headed his direction at pace. Ikitau ran it straight into score.  

A conversion by Lolesio took it to a one-point ball game, with the home side trailing by one.  

Another kicking duel began, eventually ending when Tom Wright kicked the ball into touch. 

The Crusaders were in possession, and the Brumbies received three penalties in a row, which resulted in a warning from the referee. Reihana drilled it into the corner for a lineout.  

The maul was set from the lineout, and Hotham executed a perfect offload to Reihana who scored in the right corner and converted his own try to extend their lead to eight again.  

After a scoreless 10 minutes, try scoring machine Sevu Reece showed he’s also not bad off the boot; the Crusaders had a penalty advantage, so Reece slotted a drop goal 30 meters out from directly in front to have the last say of the first half to take the half time score to 25-14 to the Crusaders.   

The Crusaders added to their points early in the second half with a penalty shot at goal which Reihana slotted to extend their lead to 14 points. 

The Brumbies hit back with some persistent attacking effort. The forward pack had several goes at the line before Rhys Van Nek buried his head and drove over to score. Lolesio’s conversion clawed the deficit back to seven points. 

The Brumbies then backed it up with a double as Corey Toole sliced his way over the field from left to right, sucked in the Crusaders defence in the process and signaled for his right winger Andy Muirhead to cut behind him to score the try.  

Lolesio’s conversion brought the scores back to even and upped the intensity at Canberra’s GIO Stadium even more.  

With both sides failing to get points on the board in 15 minutes, the Crusaders conceded a penalty, and the Brumbies opted for a shot at goal, which Lolesio made easy work of to give his side a three-point lead with seven minutes remaining. 

George Bell then silenced the home crowd when he peeled off the maul to dive over and score, edging the Crusaders out to a two-point lead with just three minutes left on the clock.  

Corey Toole then beat several defenders and looked to have the game winning try in the bag in the dying minute, before Scott Barrett’s brilliant tackle forced him to spill the ball forward.  

Crusader #300 Lewis Ponini then took the field to make his debut and set one scrum, before Reihana booted the ball into touch and put an end to the white-knuckle Trans-Tasman battle.  

The win secured the Crusaders second spot on the Super Rugby Pacific table and sends them into a home qualifying final next week. 

“It was good to show a bit of composure at the back end of the game tonight. This competition is not easy, and it’s crunch time now,” says captain Codie Taylor.  

Final score: Crusaders 33 Brumbies 31