The Brumbies were slapped with a reality check as their three-game winning streak against Kiwi opposition ended at the hands of the Crusaders in Canberra on Friday night.
Tom Wright’s brilliant intercept try – in which he turned Richie Mo’unga inside out on the way to the line – gave the Brumbies some late hope but the Crusaders always looked in control in a clash between teams two and three on the Super Rugby Pacific ladder.
The 37-26 win lifted the Crusaders level with the Brumbies on 43 points, behind only the Blues (45) who can extend their lead against the Reds in Auckland on Saturday night.
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Crusaders coach Scott Robertson admitted his side had a point to prove after recent losses to the Blues and Waratahs which triggered speculation as to whether their championship powers might be waning.
“A dead set title fight wasn’t it,” Robertson told Stan Sport. “Super Rugby at its best.”
On a night full of milestones, Crusaders winger Sevu Reece became Super Rugby’s fastest player to score 40 tries, achieving the feat in his 50th game to shade Brumbies legend Joe Roff (53).
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Gun five-eighth Richie Mo’unga then became the eighth player to score 1000 Super Rugby points, hitting the mark a week after Christian Leali’ifano’s memorable evening.
And fullback Will Jordan continued his phenomenal record against Australian teams, strolling to his 14th try in 11 trans-Tasman games.
“Loved the heart at the end but we made too many errors,” Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa said.
“It’s a huge learning for us and I think we’ll be better for it. Just individual errors, including myself.”
Crusaders flanker Pablo Matera was man of the match for a typically rugged performance and, ominously, is now looking very much at home at his new club.
The Brumbies opened the scoring with a contentious try to centre Irae Simone who managed to ground the ball just cleanly enough to satisfy the officials.
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But injured stars Rob Valetini and Noah Lolesio were sorely missed by the Brumbies against a Crusaders side now close to full strength.
Lolesio’s replacement, Rod Iona, had an early kick charged down which led to hooker Codie Taylor opening the scoring for the visitors.
That appeared to dent Iona’s confidence at five-eighth and the Crusaders seized control to take a commanding 23-5 lead into halftime.
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