3 George Smith

2 Matt Toomua

1 Scott Sio

The Brumbies were strangled out of the match in the second half. The Bulls pinned them inside their own half and every time the Brumbies got a small chance, they either dropped the ball or had it stolen. But with 90 seconds remaining, Matt Toomua stepped up with his team trailing 23-19. Previously he’d thrown some passes he shouldn’t have and admitted so after the game. But he timed his run superbly and slipped through a gap inside the attacking 22 metres. He found Tevita Kuridrani looming on the inside and delivered a pinpoint pass for Kuridrani to score the match-winner. It left the Bulls and the crowd stunned as their team squandered a four-point lead and lose a spot in the final. The referee sent it upstairs to the television match official to have it checked for a forward pass. But Toomua was spot on and it sparked celebrations. The Brumbies scored the first and last tries of the game.

The good news for the Brumbies is that they believe they haven’t played their best rugby yet, despite booking a place in the Super Rugby final for the first time in nine years. They’re still working out small kinks in their game and have shown a desperate desire to succeed, which has got them across the line. The win against the Bulls was about guts and determination. They rallied late and never gave up, even when the Bulls thought they had the match in the bag. The Brumbies will travel to Hamilton to play the Waikato Chiefs in the grand final. The Chiefs are the defending champions.

Despite missing Dan Palmer, the Brumbies’ scrum outmuscled and outworked the Bulls. The front row of Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore and Scott Sio did an enormous job in winning penalties. They stumbled a bit towards the end of the game, but there’s no doubt it will be a weapon they use in the final against the Chiefs.

Just two minutes after half-times the Bulls forced their way over the line with lock Grant Hattingh appearing to score close to the posts. However, the decision was sent to the TMO and it revealed George Smith had held him up over the line and no try was awarded. The Bulls received a penalty on the play due to the referee playing advantage from a prior indiscretion. Smith's effort saved the Brumbies four points. They won by three. It would have been a perfect start for the Bulls after trailing for the entire first half. The next turning point came in the final 15 minutes when the Bulls turned down a chance to shoot clear with penalty goals on three separate occasions, much to the disgust of the home fans. Flyhalf Morne Steyn is Super Rugby’s leading point-scorer and the attempts would have been easy for a goal-kicker of his calibre. The Bulls were worried if he nailed the penalties they would get trapped in their own half after the restart. In the end, after turning down three shots, the Bulls took their chance and led by four points. But they did get trapped in their half and the Brumbies scored in the dying minutes.

George Smith proved why he’s already an Australian legend with another superb performance against the Bulls. The 32-year-old was in everything, stealing ball at the breakdown, making crucial tackles and stopping the Bulls from scoring. Christian Lealiifano surpassed the 200-point mark in the first half and he’s the second most prolific point-scorer this season.

Brumbies flyer Henry Speight was left out of the Wallabies squad last Friday because he’s not eligible for Australian selection until September. But in the opening 10 minutes he showed why he will earn a gold jersey in the coming months. Brumbies fullback Jesse Mogg spotted some space out wide and passed to Speight. The Bulls closed down the space, but Speight forced his way through three defenders and when he got to the fourth, he flicked a ball out the back to Mogg, who scored in the corner. It was the first try of the match and a dream start for the Fijian speedster and the Brumbies.