Hello, welcome to our second Live Super Rugby Match Blog.
The Western Force currently lead the Australian conference but will be playing away from home in Canberra against a team that they have lost their last six matches. In the 8 matches played in Canberra the Brumbies have won six and the Force 2.
Brumbies Head Coach Stephen Larkham has made two changes to the side that fell on the buzzer to the Sharks last weekend with Ben Alexander and Ben Hyne to get their first start of 2017 when they play in Canberra tonight.
The Western Force will have a new front row from the side that beat the Reds in Perth last week, with Pek Cowan and Tetera Faulkner returning to the starting XV.
Former Brumby, Robbie Coleman is set to make his Western Force debut against his old club having been named on the bench.
Match detail
The teams are out on the field and the weather is way better than in Waikato. We are waiting for the kick-off.
BEEP! The Brumbies get the game underway.
1.00: Conditions are excellent for rugby, so, fingers crossed for a good game. The Force have the first scrum.
2.00: TRY FORCE!…wait. NO TRY! Chance Peni is denied for a double movement in the act of grounding the ball. Right call from Rohan Hoffmann. They do have a penalty.
4.00: It comes to nothing and the Brumbies survive.
6.00: A couple of scrums – as is the way – but the Brumbies have the ball inside the Force half.
7.00: Not much action to report. Both teams sparring.
8.00: Scrum Brumbies inside Force half. Brumbies attacking strongly. Turnover Force for holding on and they kick for touch on the Brumbies 10.
12.00: Penalty Brumbies and they kick for touch just inside the Brumbies 22. Line-out won and the Brumbies attacking on the 5.
13.00: TRY BRUMBIES! Henry Speight goes over to put the home team in front. The conversion is missed by Wharenui Hawera.
16.00: Scrum on the halfway line.
19.00: Force caught deliberately wheeling the scrum, Brumbies go for touch.
20.00: The first quarter is over in a flash. Both sides still trying to get a foothold in the game. The Force attack inside the 22.
21.00: Force attacking inside Brumbies half. Scrum Brumbies after a forward pass. Lots off handling errors at the moment.
22.00: Line out Brumbies inside Force 10. Brumbies win one for a maul infringement but are pinged for not releasing the ball a minute later.
23.00: Penalty Western Force and they’re kicking for touch. What can they conjure?
26.00: Great defence from the Brumbies side. Line out Brumbies in their own 22. Chance Peni is having a decent game here; a physical specimen with gas. Scrum to the hosts outside their 22.
27.00: Brumbies go to the blind-side. Tevita Kuridrani takes it up, is tackled and the home team wins a penalty for a ruck infringement; Kane Koteka pinged for being off his feet. Tough call.
29.00: Scrum, penalty to Force who takes a quick tap and starts an attack but Jono Lance knocks on. Scrum Brumbies.
31.00: Brumbies on the charge.
32.00: TRY BRUMBIES! That’s No two. Joe Powell makes a break, pops to Kuridrani who is tackled. The Brumbies go through some phases before the scrumhalf passes to Hawera, who sells Curtis Rona a dummy and crashes over.
33.00: Try-scorer Hawera misses his second conversion attempt; 10-0.
36.00: Some more handling errors from both teams. Considering the ‘ideal’ rugby conditions in Canberra, there is no excuse after what we saw in Waikato, earlier.
38.00: PENALTY! Force kick into Brumbies 22 and set-up a line-out drive.
40.00: TRY FORCE! On the stroke of halftime. Ross Haylett-Petty collects the throw and the forwards set up a rolling maul. The Brumbies are caught off guard and only commit five men to the maul and cannot stop it. Captain Heath Tessmann gets up with the ball.
40.00: Jono Lance reduces the deficit to three and it is halftime.
The halftime score is Brumbies 10 Force 7
The Force have missed 18 tackles and made eight handling errors. Television pictures show Force Coach David Wessels, giving his team an earful in the change room, at the break.
The teams are back out.
BEEP! The second half is underway
41.00: The Force have made some front row changes and have a line-out inside the hosts’ 22.
43.00: The Force go through the phases and inch closer to the white-wash.
44.00: TRY FORCE! Wow, What a start! They go through 17 phases and set up a ruck near the Brumbies’ posts. Ryan Louwrens goes right to Dane Haylett-Petty, who sucks in the defenders and sends a wide, floating pass to Chance Peni. The winger runs in untouched for the score.
45.00: Lance adds the extras.
46.00: Line-out on the half way line. Ball lost by the Brumbies and the Force now looks to hold on to the ball.
48.00: The visitors have a line-out and kick away.
50.00: Scrum Force. The coaches are starting to make some changes. Scrum reset.
52.00: Some territorial kicking sees the home team with a line-out. Scrumhalf Joe Powell is having an excellent game; his kicking has been superb, pinging the Force back, and he has been instrumental in both tries.
53.00: Line-out maul by the Brumbies and they go wide early and are penalised at the ruck. Force clear their lines.
55.00: Another handling error, a forward pass this time, brings another scrum to the Brumbies in midfield.
59.00: PENALTY BRUMBIES! Oh no, Hawera misses. The standoff is none from three and it is proving costly against a stubborn Perth outfit.
62.00: Another infringement at the scrum and the Ref awards a penalty within kicking distance. Hawera (to some boos from the crowd) opts for a shot from a similar position, just outside the 22 of the Force. He slots it this time.
66.00: Scrum Brumbies but the Force win a penalty. Leslie Leulua’iali’i-Makin penalised for collapsing. Lance will have a shot at goal.
67.00: It’s good. Lance is 3/3 with the boot.
70.00: PENALTY BRUMBIES! AND A YELLOW CARD! Ross Haylett-Petty is sent to the bin.
73.00: TRY BRUMBIES! Kyle Godwin with the score. Wharenui Hawera set up the chance with some dancing feet. Powell switched play, sending the ball to Godwin, who cut inside two forwards and stretched out for his 8th Super Rugby try. Conversion is good.
76.00: Brumbies on the attack with a five-metre line-out and up a man.
78.00: Scrum penalty to the Brumbies; they kick to touch.
79.00: TRY! Robbie Abel. That’s the ball game.
80.00: Hawera can’t add the two points but the Brumbies have their first win of the season.
That’s all from us for today. thank you for joining us, now get back to work.
The final score is Brumbies 25 (10) Force 17 (7)
Scorers
Brumbies
Tries – Speight, Hawera, Godwin, Abel
Pen – Hawera
Con – Hawera
Drop –
Cards –
Force
Tries – Tessmann, Peni
Pen – Lance
Con – Lance (2)
Drop –
Cards – Ross Haylett-Petty (Yellow, 71st minute)
Match Officials
Referee: Rohan Hoffmann
Assistant Ref 1: Federico Anselmi
Assistant Ref 2: Graham Cooper
TMO: Damien Mitchelmore
Teams
Brumbies
15 Aidan Toua, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 James Dargaville, 10 Wharenui Hawera, 9 Joe Powell, 8 Jordan Smiler, 7 Chris Alcock, 6 Ben Hyne, 5 Sam Carter (c), 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Josh Mann-Rea, 1 Ben Alexander
Replacements: 16 Robbie Abel, 17 Nic Mayhew, 18 Leslie Leulua’iali’i-Makin, 19 Blake Enever, 20 Tom Staniforth, 21 Lolo Fakaosilea, 22 De Wet Roos, 23 Andrew Smith
Western Force
15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Chance Peni, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Billy Meakes, 11 Luke Morahan, 10 Jono Lance, 9 Ryan Louwrens, 8 Richard Hardwick, 7 Kane Koteka, 6 Brynard Stander, 5 Matt Philip, 4 Ross Haylett-Petty, 3 Tetera Faulkner, 2 Heath Tessmann (captain), 1 Pek Cowan.
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Ben Daley, 18 Jermaine Ainsley, 19 Onehunga Havili Kaufusi, 20 Isi Naisarani, 21 Michael Ruru, 22 Ian Prior, 23 Robbie Coleman.
