Aussies turn the tables on Kiwis

RUGBY UNION THE gap between Australian and New Zealand Super Rugby teams is finally closing, Chiefs star Brodie Retallick says.

The All Blacks lock was on the end of a fierce drubbing in his 100th game on Saturday night as the Brumbies ran in eight tries to destroy the Chiefs 54-17 in Canberra.

It was a dramatic reversal for an Australian franchise to dish out a hiding to a Kiwi rival after years of New Zealand dominance.

Although the defending champion Crusaders are on a competition-record 17-game winning streak, the four other Kiwi teams have come back to the field. The infamous 40game, 722-day hoodoo of New Zealand teams over Australian counterparts, which was snapped late last season, has been consigned to history.

The Brumbies’ scintillating Round 2 display saw them rack up their highest-scoring firsthalf since their 2004 final victory over the Crusaders. Their end total was the first half-century by an Aussie team against a Kiwi opponent since Round 1, 2016, when the Brumbies scored 52 points against the Hurricanes.

It wasn’t just the Brumbies’ try-fest that sparked joy in Australian rugby fans, with the Queensland Reds showing serious improvement in their season opener. Brad Thorn’s Reds led with five minutes to go against the Highlanders in Dunedin before Dillon Hunt put the hosts back in front.

After finishing 13th last season, the result was a huge step forward for the Reds, who had lost some big names. Meanwhile, the NSW Waratahs made up for a season-opening one-point defeat to the Hurricanes to edge out the Sunwolves by a point on Saturday. The Waratahs have the bye next week.

Dave Wessels’ Rebels are back against the Highlanders next week after having a bye following their first-up victory over the Rebels.