The defensively formidable Brumbies have emerged as the early pacesetter in Australia’s Super Rugby conference, after breaking their winning drought way from home.
All five Australian teams entered round three with a 1-1 record, but only the Brumbies ended it with a second win, though the Waratahs had a bye.
A hard-earned 20-15 win over the Rebels in Melbourne ended a run of six straight away losses, two in each country, since their last win on opposition territory last April.
The Brumbies scored the only two tries of the game and Christian Lealiifano kicked ten points.
The Canberra-based franchise have only conceded one try in three games and neither the Reds or the Rebels were able to cross their line.
“Some players out there put in way beyond what they’ve put in before this season,” Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham said.
“That desperation, the energy in defence to continually get up, particularly in that last passage.
“Guys were clearly exhausted, but they were pushing as hard as they could. It came down to guts and determination at the end.”
The Reds and Force each suffered a loss to New Zealand opposition.
The Force were crushed 42-13 at home by early overall ladder leader the Hurricanes, who scored five tries to one, as the Perth-based side suffered consecutive losses since their first-up win over the Waratahs.
“I think maybe we over celebrated the Waratahs performance, maybe we’re not being hard on ourselves at the moment,” Force coach Michael Foley said.
The Reds lost 20-13 to the Highlanders in a one-try apiece arm wrestle in Dunedin.
James O’Connor on debut for the Reds, scored eight points off the boot and looked lively at five-eighth.
“For a bloke that really hasn’t played for three months or so, he looked really sharp on his feet and challenged them every time he ran with the ball,” Reds coach Richard Graham said.
Two New Zealand and two South African teams remain unbeaten after three rounds.
The Chiefs made it three straight with a five-try 40-16 rout of the Crusaders at Waikato Stadium.
“I see the Chiefs gave the Crusaders a bit of a touch-up, so they’re clearly probably the front-runners in the comp at the moment,” Brumbies captain and hooker Stephen Moore said
“We go home now to play the Force on Friday night, that’s a really big game, a short turnaround.”
The Force may have winger Nick Cummins and flanker Chris Alcock back from injury, though back-rower Angus Cottrell is in doubt with an ankle injury.
Of the South African teams, the Stormers made it three from three with a 22-19 away win over the Lions in Johannesburg
Cornal Hendricks scored a brace of tries for the Cheetahs, as they grabbed a second win from two outings with a 25-24 home victory over the Blues.
The Bulls got their first win of the campaign with a thrilling 43-35 bonus-point win over the Sharks in Pretoria.
