Brumbies Down Waratahs in Bruising Derby
Second-half tries to winger Adam Ashley-Cooper and prop Ben Alexander secured the Brumbies a vital 21-11 victory in a torrid encounter at Canberra Stadium.
The win came at a price, though, with skipper Stephen Hoiles limping off with a potentially serious knee injury and several teammates left battered and bruised.
Lock Mark Chisholm was floored trying to bring down Waratahs counterpart Will Caldwell, while fellow Wallabies forward George Smith was one of several players left spitting blood.
The Waratahs had their own casualty ward, with replacement hooker Adam Freier lasting a matter of minutes before trudging off with a possible broken collarbone.
Fullback Sam Norton-Knight spent time in the blood bin after having his head split open and five-eighth Kurtley Beale was left bleeding from the mouth after being taken out by Hoiles.
But it was the Brumbies smiling at fulltime after ending NSW"s undefeated start to the season - and climbing to the cusp of the top four with their third win from four starts.
Resuming their campaign after suffering only their second home loss against an Australian province in 14 years of Super rugby, the Brumbies were clinging to a 6-3 halftime lead courtesy of penalty goals to fullback Mark Gerrard in the 10th and 33rd minutes.
NSW's only points in the first half came seconds before the break when Beale finally found his range with his fourth penalty-goal attempt - having struck both uprights with earlier shots.
Watching from the stands, Wallabies coach Robbie Deans would have been enthused by the two sides' willingness to chance their arm in the opening quarter of an hour before the tempo slowed, mistakes crept into the game and the niggle began.
Hoiles and Waratahs flanker Dean Mumm were cautioned for some push and shove midway through the half and then Hoiles flattened Beale in an off-the-ball shoulder charge.
The Brumbies scored the first try of the match five minutes into the second half when Stirling Mortlock - running freely back at outside centre - put Ashley-Cooper over in the right corner.
But no sooner had they jumped to their eight-point advantage were the Brumbies on the back foot, with Hoiles and Chisholm both forced out of the action.
Despite Beale edging NSW back to within five points of the Brumbies, the home side rallied and rewarded with their second try in the 62nd minute when Alexander burrowed over.
The try, though, belonged to side-stepping centre Tyrone Smith, who stood up Timana Tahu and then bumped off Beale in a surging run to take the Brumbies deep into Waratahs territory.
A third Gerrard penalty goal sealed the deal before the Waratahs grabbed a consolation try through winger Lachie Turner three minutes from time.
Reds Finally Deliver to Breath Life Into Their Super Season
The Reds breathed life into their season with the much-deserved three-tries-to-one victory which was only sealed with a 72nd-minute try to dynamic centre Digby Ioane.
Abrasive Wallabies forward Hugh McMeniman was a tower of strength for Queensland just two days after the funeral of his father Geoff, who died last Friday, hours before the 15-11 loss to NSW.
McMeniman repaired the lineout which was dismantled by the Waratahs and was a constant menace for the Sharks defence, while skipper Berrick Barnes led brilliantly in defence and attack.
Rookie prop Ben Daley stood tall in his run-on debut as the dangerous Sharks scrum was nullified.
Replacement halfback Will Genia was also inspirational, scoring a 27th-minute try for an 18-0 lead and also setting up Ioane's match-winner with a smart flick pass from the ruck-base.
But Genia, who came on for the injured Ben Lucas (ribs), may well be in trouble with the match citing commissioner for a dangerous driving tackle on Keegan Daniel.
The victory, after a series of close losses, lifted Queensland to ninth on the ladder with a 2-3 record while the Durban-based Sharks remain third.
The Reds led 18-6 at halftime and held the advantage until the 64th minute, gamely holding on with 14 men with fullback Mark McLinden sin-binned, when the Sharks stormed back with an opportunist's try to No.8 Ryan Kankowski.
The off-colour Sharks were unable to threaten again and were also brought down by a poor lineout and poor handling, especially from backline wonder kid Frans Steyn.
As expected, the high-flying Sharks dominated possession and territory early but the Reds defence calmly soaked up the pressure brought upon by two charged down Lucas.
Lucas didn't take long to make amends, though, putting Johny-on-the-spot lock Adam Byrnes over for the opening try after darting to the blind and off-loading following a sweeping backline move sparked by Quade Cooper.
Lucas failed to convert but the Reds continued to chance their arm and should have had their second try when free-running Scott Higginbotham missed fellow flanker Daniel Braid capitalised with a poor pass with the line wide open.
The Reds came away with a Lucas penalty goal as a consolation for an ensuing high shot on Barnes to stretch the lead to eight.
It was one of the halfback's final involvements as he copped a blow to the ribs and was replaced Genia, who was on the field for less than a minute before bringing the 20,582-strong crowd to their feet by diving over for the second try.
Burly No.8 broke through the tackles of Ryan Kankowski and Adri Jacobs and found young winger Blair Connor is support who was brought down by rory Kockott but popped up the pass for Genia.
Giteau Stars as Force Steal Draw
The injury-hit Crusaders ran in three unanswered tries in the first half and led 23-9 in the 57th minute before the Force, inspired by Giteau's brilliance, stormed back into the contest.
Giteau, who nailed two conversions and three penalties for the night without a miss, set up Haig Sare and James O'Connor for tries as the Force piled on 14 points to level the scores.
But the Force couldn't land the killer blow and were lucky to escape with the draw after Crusaders flyhalf Stephen Brett missed an easy penalty just six minutes from time.
The result could come at a cost for the Force, who lost winger Cameron Shepherd to an ankle injury in the second half and prop Ben Castle to a shoulder/neck complaint.
"We are disappointed not to get the win," Force coach John Mitchell said.
"We had the last possession of the game but, in saying that, you've still got to be content that we got ourselves back into the game.
"We didn't start well and they stretched us with a lot of width and got a lot of one-on-one opportunities, which gave them a lot of quick ball.
"We had trouble with that early.
"The scoreline wasn't an issue at halftime, it was more about getting ourselves back into the match.
"It's pleasing how we came back."
Coincidentally, the first draw between the two sides - in Perth in 2006 - was also a 23-23 scoreline.
Inside centre Ryan Crotty, Tim Bateman and lock Isaac Ross all notched tries in the first half as the Crusaders' expansive game plan left the Force defence floundering on numerous occasions.
The 20-6 halftime scoreline could have been even worse for the Force had Brett been on target with his boot, the Crusaders flyhalf missing two penalties and two conversions in the first 40 minutes.
But the Force came out a different side in the second half and broke the shackles in the 58th minute when Giteau made a slicing run through the Crusaders defence before unleashing a 13m pass to Sare, who did well to stay in the field of play and touch down in the corner.
Crusaders fullback Leon MacDonald was shown a yellow card in the 66th minute and the Force made the most of the numerical advantage as Giteau bounced off two tackles to send O'Connor over in the 69th minute to ensure a share of the spoils.
The draw leaves the Force four points adrift of the top four, while the seven-times Super champions Crusaders, who take on NSW next Saturday in Sydney, are languishing a further two points behind.
Adding to the Crusaders' early-season woes the citing of prop Owen Franks for a late and high tackle in Giteau.
Super 14 Collated Results and Standings-Round 5
BLUES 46 (Jamie Helleur, Chris Lowrey, Taniela Moa, Chris Smylie, Isaia Toeava, Anthony Tuitavake tries Jimmy Gopperth 5 cons 2 pens) bt CHEETAHS 12 (Kabamba Floors, Corne Uys tries Jacques-Louis Potgieter con) at North Harbour Stadium. Referee: Keith Brown (NZL).
BRUMBIES 21 (Ben Alexander, Adam Ashley-Cooper tries Mark Gerrard con 3 pens) bt NSW WARATAHS 11 (Lachlan Turner try Kurtley Beale 2 pens) at Canberra Stadium. Referee: Mark Lawrence (RSA).
CRUSADERS 23 (Tim Bateman, Ryan Crotty, Isaac Ross tries Stephen Brett con 2 pens) drew WESTERN FORCE 23 (James O'Connor, Haig Sare tries Matt Giteau 2 cons 3 pens) at AMI Stadium. Referee: Marius Jonker (RSA).
CHIEFS 14 (Tanerau Latimer, Lelia Masaga tries Stephen Donald 2 cons) bt HIGHLANDERS 10 (Fetuu Vainikolo try Daniel Bowden con pen) at Rugby Park. Referee: Matt Goddard (AUS).
QUEENSLAND REDS 25 (Adam Byrnes, Will Genia, Digby Ioane tries Berrick Barnes 2 cons Barnes, Ben Lucas pens) bt SHARKS 13 (Ryan Kankowski try Rory Kockott con 2 pens) at Suncorp Stadium. Referee: James Leckie (AUS). Crowd: 20,582.
STORMERS 56 (Andries Bekker 2, Gcobani Bobo, Schalk Burger, Jean De Villiers, Dewaldt Duvenage, Francois Louw, Sireli Naqelevuki tries Peter Grant 4, Willem de Waal cons de Waal 2 pens) bt LIONS 18 (Louis Ludik, Henno Mentz tries Andre Pretorius con 2 pens) at Newlands Rugby Stadium. Referee: Craig Joubert (RSA).
Bye-Bulls, Hurricanes
Super 14 Ladder P W D L PF PA PD BP Pts
- Bulls 4 4 0 0 122 65 57 2 18
- NSW Waratahs 5 4 0 1 97 77 20 2 18
- Sharks 5 4 0 1 115 96 19 1 17
- Blues 5 3 0 2 142 133 9 4 16
- Hurricanes 4 3 0 1 103 79 24 2 14
- Brumbies 4 3 0 1 88 83 5 1 13
- Stormers 5 2 0 3 116 90 26 4 12
- Chiefs 5 2 0 3 80 75 5 4 12
- Western Force 5 2 1 2 96 105 -9 2 12
- Queensland Reds 5 2 0 3 102 91 11 3 11
- Crusaders 5 1 1 3 82 90 -8 4 10
- Highlanders 5 1 0 4 80 103 -23 4 8
- Lions 4 1 0 3 71 125 -54 2 6
- Cheetahs 5 0 0 5 65 147 -82 2 2
Top point scorers (tries, conversions, field goals, penalty goals, points):
Morne Steyn (Bulls) - 7 2 11 53
Rory Kockott (Sharks) - 10 1 8 47
Daniel Bowden (H'landers) 2 7 - 7 45
Jimmy Gopperth (Blues) 1 10 - 6 43
Mark Gerrard (Brumbies) 2 3 - 9 43
Matt Giteau (Force) - 7 1 7 38
Kurtley Beale (NSW Waratahs) - 7 1 6 35
Peter Grant (Stormers) 1 9 - 4 35
Jacques-Louis Potgieter (Cheetahs) 1 5 - 5 30
Stephen Donald (Chiefs) - 8 - 3 25
LEADING TRYSCORERS
4: Pierre Spies (Bulls), Casey Laulala (Crusaders), JP Pietersen (Sharks)
3: Andries Bekker (Stormers), Peter Hynes (Reds), Digby Ioane (Reds), Cameron Shepherd (Force), Hosea Gear (Hurricanes), Ashwin Willemse (Lions), Isaia Toeava (Blues), Wynand Olivier (Bulls), Lelia Masaga (Chiefs)
