Brumbies keep Force scoreless for the first time in 13 years

The Brumbies continued their unbeaten start to Super Rugby AU by bulldozing the Western Force 24-0 at Leichhardt Oval, Sydney, on Saturday night.

A couple of Brumbies tries in the first five minutes - the first to Tom Wright and then Irae Simone - began from deep in their own half and jolted the Force into action. The West Australians were unable to recover and finished scoreless for the first time in a Super Rugby match since 2007, when the Crusaders carved them up 53-0 in Christchurch.

“I think the best thing is how we started both halves and then it was backed up by good defence,” Brumbies skipper Allan Alaalatoa said.

“I’m really proud of the boys. To keep a side like that to nil, you’ve got to be proud of the effort. We continued to want to back our skill in the rain and I think we did that.” Four weeks into a 10-round competition and the Brumbies appear a strong chance of finishing on top, which would earn them a breather in the first week of the finals.

The bonus-point victory sees them regain top spot on the ladder with 14 points, ahead of the Reds (10), Rebels (6), Waratahs (6) and Force (1).

The quality of this fixture was much better than Friday’s errorriddled showing between the Waratahs and Melbourne Rebels, and the scoreline wasn’t a fair reflection of how much the Force took it to the Brumbies.

Force captain Jeremy Thrush said: “It just shows where the benchmark is overall with the Brumbies and where we need to get to. We kept fighting.”

- Rugby Heaven

leonec@fijisun.com.fj