Sitting on top of the pile in sport isn’t all it’s cracked
up to be. Everyone’s out to get you,
wants to raise their game against you and grab the win, tales of which they can
churn out every Christmas without fail to the colossal boredom of anyone listening
aside from the teller. Being the best
means effectively drawing a big target on your chest, or wearing a large ‘kick
me’ sticker on your rear end, and waiting for the strike – and if you’re not
used to the pressure, it can be pretty hard to deal with. The Brumbies haven’t been a successful side
since that hallowed Gregan-Larkham era, and so perhaps we shouldn’t be too
harsh on the judgements after they succumbed to powerful Stormers performance
on Saturday.
The Brumbies had been in blistering form in the build up to
this match – destroying the Sharks the week before with a stunning first half
display, and demonstrating an almost unplayable pace in their play at times in
their opening fixtures, with their mobile pack running sides off the park
before the likes of Henry Speight and the outstanding Jesse Mogg applied the
finishing touches. The Stormers,
meanwhile, hae been in indifferent form, with their trademark brutal defence
yet to fully click and only 1 win from their opening 3 games – but teams have a
knack of bringing it together when the league leaders come to town.
At first, it seemed like the game would all to go script,
with the Brumbies dominating possession for the opening 10 minutes and Ben
Mowen looking lively in the loose and Christian Lealiifano pulling the strings
in the middle, but then the home side burst into life. A penalty from Joe Pietersen got the hosts off
the mark, and then winger Gio Aplon took a short ball of Elton Jantjies to
cruise through a gap in the Australian side’s defence, before standing up
stand-in full back Robbie Coleman with a delightful step that left Coleman on
his backside and Aplon jogging around the posts, giving the Stormers a 10 point
lead.
Lealiifano pulled a penalty back for the visitors, but the
respite was short lived as the Stormers came right back at them, powering
towards the Brumbies’ line with a driving maul of a lineout which, when it was
brought down a metre from the line, provided the perfect platform for Andries
Bekker to demonstrate his Inspector-Gadget-esque reach and touch down for his
side’s second try. The game was being
played at an almost frantic pace and was end to end stuff, with the Brumbies
striking straight back through the electric Henry Speight, who took advantage
of a rare dogleg in the Stormers defence to burst through the line and gas his
way round the cover.
The game crept towards the halfway point, and the crowd sat
back, satisfied they’d had their fill of entertainment for the first 40 minutes
– but the Stormers didn’t agree. A
strong drive by Siya Kolisi and a lovely dart by Jantjies created a gap for
Bekker to stroll through, going beneath the posts for his second. The huge lock is having some season, and
would have pretty pleased with the 12 point cushion he’d effectively given his
side after the break.
What he would have been less pleased about though is the way
in which the hosts softly let the Aussie side back into the game after the
break. With both sides butchering
opportunities under pressure, it was becoming clear that discipline would be
key, and with veteran George Smith at
his craft best, it was the Brumbies who came out on top in this
department with Lealiifano knocking over 4 penalties to Pietersen’s 1 to trim
the gap to just 3 points with only 10 minutes remaining.
The Stormers of 3 weeks ago would have panicked, perhaps
realised it was going to be ‘one of those days’. But not this week. Instead, a Pietersen penalty was followed by
a gutsy intercept by pacy winger Gerhard Van Den Heever, and the fate of the
then only unbeaten side in the Super XV was sealed, with the Stormers claiming
a great 12 point win and condemning the Brumbies to their first defeat.
And the Brumbies will have to get used to one thing fast –
that it can get pretty lonely at the top.
What else was happening across the Super XV this weekend?
Chiefs 19 – 7 Highlanders: The Chiefs scrapped their way to an
important win over a brave – but still winless – Highlanders side. Tim Nanai-Williams was scored again for the
hosts as he continues to terrify defences, whilst Aaron Smith darted over for
the Otago side.
Sharks 64 – 7 Rebels: The Rebels were hammered by the Sharks on
Saturday as they were blown away by a 60-minute 10 try blitz, to which they
could only respond through a consolation score from Scott Higginbotham. The scorers for the Sharks were (deep breath)
Louis Ludik (2), Marcel Coetzee, Jacques Botes, Keegan Daniel, Kyle Cooper,
Jacobus Reinach, The Beast, Ryan Kankowski and Riaan Viljoen.
Force 10 – 19 Cheetahs: The Force were undone in a tight game in
Perth, where the Cheetahs scored a late game-sealing score through Willie le
Roux, after the hosts had initially gone ahead after a score from centre
Winston Stanley.
Reds 23 – 18 Bulls: The Reds bounced back from the previous
week’s humbling with a gritty win over the Bulls. Jono Lance and the sharp Quade Cooper both
went over for the hosts, who managed to keep the touring side tryless.
Crusaders 55 – 20
Kings: The Crusaders continued their
recovery with a thumping home win over this year’s minnows, the Kings. The Canterbury side a George Whitelock
hattrick to thank for their big score, as well as tries from brother Luke,
Wyatt Crockett, Willi Heinz and Matt Todd.
The visitors battled admirably and grabbed a couple of scores through
Wimpie Van Der Walt and George Whitehead as a reward for their efforts.
Waratahs 30 – 27
Blues: The Tahs grabbed a much
needed win against the Blues on Saturday in a thriller that came down to a last
minute Bernard Foley penalty. Drew
Mitchell opened the scoring for the hosts before the visitors struck back
through James Parsons, Chris Noakes and Charles Piutau, before the Sydney-based
side clawed their way into the game, with Israel Folou and Foley both going
over.
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