SCOREBOARD
NSW WARATAHS 28 (Michael Hooper, Berrick Barnes, Peter Betham tries; Brendan McKibbin 2, Berrick Barnes penalties; Berrick Barnes 2 conversions) bt ACT BRUMBIES 22 (Ben Mowen, Tevita Kuridrani tries; Jesse Mogg 3, Christian Lealiifano penalties)at ANZ Stadium. Referee: Steve Walsh. Crowd: 21,817.
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BRUMBIES' BEST
3 George Smith
2 Ben Mowen
1 Tevita Kuridrani
WHAT WE LEARNED
WHERE ARE THE BRUMBIES?
The race for the Australian conference is wide open. The Brumbies appear to be faltering while the Waratahs and Queensland Reds are charging. The Brumbies’ confidence would have taken a massive hit after losing to their arch rivals at ANZ Stadium. Coach Jake White will need to find a way to help his squad regroup – fast. They face off against their 2012 destroyers – the Auckland Blues – this week. If keeping their season alive isn’t motivation enough, getting revenge for the Blues ending the Brumbies’ play-off hopes last season will add extra spice. At the moment the Brumbies just lack the clinical edge which has seen them soar to the top of the ladder in the early stages of the competition. It’s just little areas that are off. But those little areas are costing them dearly. It must be said the Waratahs are surging, they’ve now won three in a row and look like a team capable of a finals berth. Strap yourself in for an intense month of Super Rugby.
THE INJURIES
It was built as a selection battle for Wallabies spots. But both teams were the walking wounded on the eve of Robbie Deans naming a 25-man squad for the British and Irish Lions. George Smith, Pat McCabe, Christian Lealiifano, Tatafu Polota-Nau and Rob Horne were all injured. All were expected to be in contention to be in Deans’ initial squad.
BARNES’ INFLUENCE
In just his third game of the season, Berrick Barnes proved he wouldn’t be out of place if named in Robbie Deans’ Wallabies squad on Sunday. The veteran playmaker set up the Waratahs’ first try, booted a penalty to give his side the lead and then scored a superb individual try to put NSW back in the contest with 14 minutes remaining. He slotted the conversion to give the Waratahs a 28-22 advantage with just five minutes remaining.
THE STEVE WALSH BATTLE
The Brumbies have had a long history of battling with referee Steve Walsh and it continued at ANZ Stadium. Walsh was whistle happy in the first half, penalising the Brumbies for what coach Jake White described as an "invented channel between the halfback and the ruck". The Brumbies were privately fuming with the way Walsh officiated the match. He was ruthless against the Brumbies. But then when the Brumbies were charging to the line in the dying seconds with a rolling maul, Walsh ruled they collapsed it short of the line. It ended the Brumbies' hopes of victory and the club was filthy with some of Walsh's decisions.
DOUGLAS DISAPPOINTMENT
It was a heartbreaking early end to an emotional night for Waratahs lock Kane Douglas. His mum Trish died earlier in the week and Douglas decided he wanted to be with his teammates to help the grieving process. There was a touching minute of silence before kick-off. But it came to an agonising end just 30 seconds into the match. He was knocked out when his head rammed into Brumbies forward George Smith. The towering second-rower and Wallabies hopeful struggled back to his feet only to fall to the ground again. Clearly distressed, Douglas wanted to play on. But his night was over in the first minute.
