BRUMBIES PUT IN CASE FOR DEFENCE
RUGBY UNION: Coach Dan McKellar was glowing in his praise after the Brumbies turned in one of the great defensive performances in Super Rugby history to revitalise their season.
The visitors made a whopping 239 tackles as they held out the Stormers – who made just 90 tackles – to win 19-17 in Cape Town. The Stormers also dominated possession, 70-30 per cent, and field position, 76-24 per cent.
“Outstanding”, McKellar said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder of a group of men.
“We had very few chances and the ones that we did have today we took them, and you’ve got to do that away from home.”
The courageous win was achieved without first-choice back-rowers David Pocock and Lachlan McCaffrey, with 22-year-old New Zealander Jahrome Browne excelling in his first Super Rugby start.
The Brumbies led 12-3 early after lock Rory Arnold played a key role in two tries.
But the Stormers took the lead with scores either side of half time, including a penalty try after a lengthy video review that saw winger Toni Pulu sin-binned for a high shot.
A converted try to Tom Banks putting the Brumbies back on top near the hour mark and the Stormers were unable to find an answer to unlock the Australians’ defensive wall.
Skipper Christian Lealiifano praised his forward pack for their wholehearted efforts to deny the Stormers on their home turf.
“We obviously spoke about having strong defence and they were just going to keep throwing everything at us,” he said. “We were able to withstand that for 80 minutes; everyone just contributed and did their roles.”
After chalking up back-to-back wins for the first time this season, the Brumbies have a 4-5 record and travel to Argentina to take on the Jaguares with a full head of steam.
They are also set to finally regain Pocock, who has missed the past five games with a calf injury.
“I think that’s nice momentum,” Lealiifano said. “It gives the group plenty of confidence.”