The Brumbies have played the NSW Waratahs 35 times in Super Rugby since 1996; the Canberra side has won 18 matches and lost 17 times.
The Brumbies’ 18 give them a record of winning 51% of their matches against the Waratahs regardless of venue.
- The NSW Waratahs have won their last two Super Rugby games heading into this fixture; the last time they won more than two consecutive games was a three-game stretch from June to July in 2018.
- The Brumbies have won eight of their last nine Super Rugby games against the Waratahs (L1), including their last five on the bounce–their longest ever winning streak against them.
- Dan McKellar’s men have scored the most (5) and conceded the fewest (1) tries of any team in the final quarter of their games in Super Rugby AU.
- The ‘Tahs have made more clean breaks (9) and offloads (8) per game than any other team in Super Rugby AU, despite having the lowest time in possession per game this season (15m 18s).
- Tom Horton (Waratahs) has a lineout throw success rate of 93% (39/42) in Super Rugby AU, the highest of any player to have made at least three throws.
- The ACT side stunned New South Wales in Round Three of Super Rugby AU with a late 23-24 win in at ANZ Stadium, Sydney.
Match detail
The Waratahs were forced into a change to the team that was initially announced as Karmichael Hunt incurred a minor hamstring injury.
Hunt’s injury is considered low-grade and made him unavailable for the trip to Canberra. He’ll undertake further assessment at the beginning of next week ahead of the Waratah’s final regular-season game against the Rebels.
It’s forced a backline reshuffle for coach Penney, who has shifted Joey Walton to inside centre with Lalkai Foketi to play outside him.
Nick Malouf will join the reserves alongside Ben Donaldson and Mitch Short, with the Australian Sevens outside back in line for a Waratahs debut.
We are waiting for the kick-off.
In the meantime, why not have a look at the match preview.
1.00: PEEEEP! We are underway at GIO Stadium for this annual grudge match between the Brumbies and Waratahs.
3.00: As always with Aussie derbies when the deep winter sets in Canberra, the two teams go to the boot in the early stages. It is cold tonight, so we should have a close game.
5.00: Tom Banks, Alex Newsome, Ryan Lonergan, Joe Powell have all had a few kicks of the ball already as the sides look for territory. A good first scrum by the Tahs, there; however, they give away a penalty at the breakdown.
6.00: Oops! Connal McInerney loses a lineout against the throw. The drizzle is starting to look like sleet, so expect a lot of handling errors tonight.
8.00: Jake Gordon is liking the short side. He has gone down the left touchline twice from both scrums. This time, NSW win the penalty at the ruck.
9.00: NO TRY! Jack Dempsey tries to stretch for the goal-line, but he knocks-on as he tries to place the ball. 0-0
12.00: The conditions are slippery, both hookers have lost a lineout throw.
13.00: The Brumbies win possession and almost score after Irae Simone’s kick is caught by Tom Wright, who tip-toed the touchline before throwing an inside pass to Simone. The Tahs carry the ball over their in-goal so the opposition has the 5m scrum.
14.00: SCRUM-PENALTY to the Tahs. That is a dodgy call by the ref because the Brumbies were looking good there.
15.00: TRY! Another lost lineout gives the hosts the ball. Ryan Lonergan – who looked offside – is awarded the try by the TMO Ian Smith. The replay shows the halfback is at least a metre and a half offsides, but Smith did not think so. 5-0
16.00: CONVERSION! Ryan Lonergan, kicking at 90%, converts his try. 7-0
19.00: Horton wins a penalty at the breakdown to give his team a chance at three.
20.00: PENALTY! Will Harrison, kicking 29 from 32 this season, puts NSW on the board. 7-3
23.00: Big shove by the Brumbies leads to the hosts opting the attacking lineout – their banker. A third of their tries coming from their driving maul.
24.00: TRY! Andy Muirhead collects Bayley Kuenzle’s pin-point cross-filed kick and scores in the corner. The Waratahs defended the driving maul well, but the hosts caught them napping. 12-3
26.00: MISS! Lonergan pulls his kick well wide. 12-3
29.00: PENALTY! Harrison doubles his team’s tally. 12-6
32.00: Another reset scrum. The Brumbies are dominating possession with 70%.
34.00: Harrison kicks another penalty to touch to set up a lineout inside the opposition’s 22.
35.00: Horton’s throw is a stolen and so another opportunity goes missing. Australian hookers cannot throw a lineout straight or to their jumpers.
37.00: TRY! Horton redeems himself, running over Muirhead and Simone before offloading around the back of Banks to Dempsey, who slips Lachlan McCaffrey’s tackle and races along the touchline to score in the corner. 12-11
38.00: MISS! Harrison with a rare miss. 12-11
41.00: The hooter goes without any more damage to the teams.
The halftime score was Brumbies 12 Waratahs 11
41.00: PEEEEP! We are back underway in Canberra.
43.00: The second stanza starts the same way as the first with lots of kicking for territory.
45.00: The scrums have to be rest at least three times. The Brumbies win a penalty for offsides off the back of another good scrum. Banks boots the ball deep into the New South Wales try-line.
46.00: TRY! Pete Samu, hugging the left touchline, gathers a long, looping pass by Simone and runs in untouched to score next to the posts. Newsome could not get close to him despite being quicker. 17-11
47.00: CONVERSION! Lonergan is not missing that. 19-11
49.00: Horton is having one of those games: missing his jumpers; winning penalties at the breakdown; setting up a try, and knocking on three times.
52.00: Nick White, on for Lonergan, tries to take a quick penalty, but he is called back.
53.00: TRY! Tom Wright scores from a terrific rolling maul. The ball was driven towards the try-line before being sent wide to Wright to score. 24.11
54.00: CONVERSION! Kuenzle slots the touchline conversion. 26-11
58.00: TRY! Wright has another after a scrappy lineout. The ball is passed through the hands to Simone, who takes it through a couple of holes before sending Wright away in the corner. 31-11
59.00: MISS! The conversion hits the crossbar and bounces back. 31-11
64.00: The Waratahs have nothing to lose now. They have to play fast and loose in slippery conditions. They can’t go to their lineout because it’s rubbish, and their scrum is getting smashed.
67.00: The Tahs cannot score despite being camped on the Brumbies’ line.
70.00: Now it’s time for the hosts to counter-attack. They go all the way into the opposition’s half, win a penalty, and Banks boots the ball deep into the 22. Here we go!
73.00: TRY! Samu, tip-toeing down the touchline almost beats two defenders to score. His boot looked to have touched the chalk, but TMO Smith awards his score. 36-11
74.00: CONVERSION! Kuenzle slots another touchline conversion – that’s all he does! 36-11
76.00: The game is done, the Tahs cannot get anything from this game. They go back to the drawing board.
78.00: The Waratahs have been pedestrian tonight, and already look like they want to be on the bus home.
81.00: The siren sounds, White takes the ball and boots it into the stands.
FULL TIME
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The final score is Brumbies 38 (12) Waratahs 11 (11)
Scorers
Brumbies
Tries – R. Lonergan, Muirhead, Samu (2), Wright (2)
Pen –
Con – R. Lonergan (2), Kuenzle (2)
Drop –
Cards –
Waratahs
Tries – Dempsey
Pen – Harrison (2)
Con –
Drop –
Cards –
Match Officials
Referee: Angus Gardner
Assistant Ref 1: Graham Cooper
Assistant Ref 2: Reuben Keane
TMO: Ian Smith
Teams
Brumbies
15 Tom Banks, 14 Andy Muirhead, 13 Solomone Kata, 12 Irae Simone, 11 Tom Wright, 10 Bayley Kuenzle, 9 Ryan Lonergan, 8 Pete Samu, 7 Will Miller, 6 Lachlan McCaffrey, 5 Cadeyrn Neville, 4 Murray Douglas, 3 Allan Alaalatoa (captain), 2 Connal McInerney, 1 James Slipper
Replacements: 16 Lachlan Lonergan, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Tom Ross, 19 Darcy Swain, 20 Rob Valetini, 21 Tom Cusack, 22 Nic White, 23 Len Ikitau
Waratahs
15 Jack Maddocks, 14 James Ramm, 13 Joey Walton, 12 Karmichael Hunt, 11 Alex Newsome, 10 Will Harrison, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Lachlan Swinton, 5 Rob Simmons (captain), 4 Ned Hanigan, 3 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 2 Tom Horton, 1 Tom Robertson
Replacements: 16 Robbie Abel, 17 Tetera Faulkner, 18 Angus Bell, 19 Tom Staniforth, 20 Hugh Sinclair, 21 Mitch Short, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Lalakai Foketi