Brumbies hold on for victory against Western Force
The University of Canberra Brumbies have narrowly clinched their first win of the season 19-17 against the Western Force at Canberra Stadium, Friday night. The Force were a far better side to the one the University of Canberra Brumbies faced in Darwin three weeks ago, pushing the home side to the final bell but coming up short.
Six players – Leon Power, Jesse Mogg, Ruaidhri Murphy, Scott Fardy, Joe Tomane and skipper Ben Mowen all made their Brumbies debuts. While Mogg, Murphy, Fardy and Tomane also enjoyed their Super Rugby debuts, former Waratah Mowen was outstanding as Captain leading the way up front in attack and defence.
Mogg was also impressive throughout, punishing the Force with several quick raids and a second-half try to claim the man of the match.
Head Coach Jake White acknowledged there was plenty of work to be done but was pleased to leave Canberra Stadium with a win.
“Tonight was a big step in forming the way we want to fight to the end of matches,” White said.
“It was a must win for the boys confidence and we’ve achieved that goal”.
“At the end of the day it was always going to be tight, they are the Western Force, they are a quality rugby team and they were never going to come over here wanting anything but a win.
“But credit to our boys, they stuck in there. I’ve said it so many times that other teams don’t know how good we can be – that we don’t know how good we can be.
“A win’s a win, it wasn’t the prettiest match I’ve ever seen but at the end of the day we wanted a win – back when I arrived here on June 12 I circled today in my diary as a must win for the boys confidence and we’ve achieved that goal.”
Both teams wanted to play the game away from their own 22s, with kicking the focus of the entire first half.
The first quarter of the game saw a glut of penalties to both teams. White converted three out of four, including an impressive 53m bomb to put his team in the lead. Stannard converted two of three for the Western Force gifting the home side a 9-6 lead.
The penalties continued into the second quarter with Stannard’s boot helping the Western Force take the University of Canberra Brumbies on the score board. At half time the Western Force led 12-9.
The University of Canberra Brumbies showed some attacking flair near the end of the first half with the forwards reaping rewards for their long pre-season, driving the Force off the ball giving the backs plenty of room to move.
Mogg had the crowd on its feet in his debut FxPro Super Rugby match, steaming onto a short ball close to the posts to nudge his team into the lead.
Eight minutes later, Coleman crossed the line again for the University of Canberra Brumbies. This try was a culmination of sharp passing and support from the team, fly-half Matt Toomua spotting Coleman out wide and hitting him with a lofty pass to run into space.
One of the major positive was that the University of Canberra Brumbies were able to close out the game, holding off an attacking Western Force team who held ball possession for the last five minutes.
The University of Canberra Brumbies now have two weeks off, with their next match against the Cheetahs back at Canberra Stadium on March 10.
UNIVERSITY OF CANBERRA BRUMBIES 19 (Robbie Coleman, Jesse Mogg tries Nic White 3 pens) bt WESTERN FORCE 17 (James Stannard try 4 pens) at Canberra Stadium. Referee: Bryce Lawrence. Crowd: 14,211
By SANZAR News Service