Moore has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the 49th-minute incident that sparked a hostile Brisbane crowd to life in the Brumbies' 23-20 win against the Reds.

The Reds and SANZAR officials had opportunities to cite Moore for further investigation but decided against sending the matter to the judiciary.

Quirk grabbed on to Moore at the breakdown to prevent him from being part of the defensive line and Moore hit back with a swinging punch to Quirk's stomach.

The Reds claim Moore was part of the ruck and Quirk was within his rights to hold on to the Test rake.

But Brumbies captain Ben Mowen says the holding tactic has no place in Super Rugby. "Those little crap things that creep into the game are a big frustration for myself," Mowen said.

"You want to be measured against each other side to side who's the better footy team and when that other stuff comes in - blocking off the ball, holding players in and all that - it's not footy.

"I think it does [happen more often now] ... It's frustrating. I'm thankful the message has come back from [referees' boss] Lyndon Bray that it's getting out of the gamebecause there's no place for it."

The Reds were furious there was no action taken against Moore. The Reds were camped in their attacking zone and had the Brumbies on the ropes as the hosts threw wave after wave of attack at the line. They were just centimetres from scoring when Moore scrambled to be a defender next to the ruck.

Quirk grabbed him and Moore tried to break free by hitting the breakaway's arm.

When he didn't let go, Moore lashed out with a swinging arm while Reds halfback Will Genia snuck over the try line in the corner.

The Reds were punished. Referee Steve Walsh deemed the first offence was Quirk holding on to Moore and disallowed Genia's try before returning to a penalty on the opposite side of the field.

"You can't hold a player who's in the defensive line from the ruck," said Brumbies director of rugby Laurie Fisher. "That's the end of the story, I don't care how good or how bad it looks. The first offence was by a Reds player, it cost them a try.

"Lyndon Bray has said they need to clamp down on guys holding [on at the ruck], let's get that out of the game. The message to the players is don't hold players illegally."

Reds coach Richard Graham was fuming and said he would speak to the game commissioner.

But the Reds and the game commissioner opted against citing Moore.

The Reds were desperate for a victory with their season hanging the balance after winning just three of their first eight games.

The Brumbies have won six of their first eight games, equalling their start to last season and cementing their place at the top of the Australian conference before their first bye this weekend.

The Brumbies have just one bonus point from eight matches. But they secured crucial wins while coping with a big injury toll and showed an enormous amount of courage to fend off almost 40 minutes of constant Queensland attack.

They face a tough test when they return from the bye - starting with a grand-final rematch against the Waikato Chiefs before taking on the seven-time champion Canterbury Crusaders, Jake White's Durban Sharks and a two-game trip to South Africa.