A DOMINANT ACT Brumbies powered to the top of Super Rugby AU Saturday with a 24-0 thrashing of Western Force, who remain winless on their return to the top flight.
The Canberra-based team got off to an electric start on a wet night in Sydney, with breakout tries to Tom Wright and Irae Simone in the first five minutes.
Will Miller and Connal McInerney also crossed in the second period, highlighting how much work the Perth side still have in front of them as they adjust to Super Rugby after a three-year absence.
“The best thing was how we started both halves and then it was backed up by good defence, so really proud of the boys,” said Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa.
“I think our big improvement was our defence, to keep (a clean sheet) you’ve got to be proud of the effort. That’s something we’ll continue to build on for next week.”
The slick Brumbies have now won their last eight games against the Force stretching back to 2013, reinforcing their credentials as favourites in the domestic Australian competition.
They top the five-team ladder with 14 points from three games, four ahead of the Queensland Reds, with the Force anchored at the bottom.
“It was a physical game out there and unfortunate start for us, I guess, with back-to-back tries… which put us in a bit of a hole that we tried to get out of,” said Jeremy Thrush, the Force skipper and a former All Blacks lock.
“It shows your where the benchmark is with the Brumbies, and where we need to get to. But I was still proud of the boys’ effort. We kept fighting.”
Boosting an all-Wallabies front row of Scott Sio, Folau Fainga’a, and Allan Alaalatoa, and a backline featuring powerhouse runners Simone, Tevita Kuridrani, and Solomone Kata, the Brumbies immediately stamped their authority on the game.
In a red-hot start, Tom Wright raced over for a try after just 90 seconds in a flowing move from a scrum deep within their own half.
And in another top-notch counter-attack, they bagged a second minutes later, running the ball 80 metres with quality passing before Simone dotted down and young prospect Bayley Kuenzie kicked the conversion.
The Force were shellshocked, but spearheaded by Thrush and the experienced Jono Lance, slowly found their feet, tightening up their defence only for handling errors to let them down when they created chances.
To their credit, they prevented the Brumbies scoring again in the first half, but Alaalatoa’s team burst out of the blocks in the second half as they did in the first.
They notched another quick try after the impressive Wright sucked in two defenders and offloaded to Miller who scrambled over as rain poured down, with McInerney getting their fourth from a driving maul to guarantee the win.
