CA Brumbies tame Lions in the wet

Matt Giteau

The CA Brumbies have celebrated the return of Matt Giteau and Justin Harrison to Canberra Stadium with a 24-13 win over the Lions tonight.

The win, which also marked Rocky Elsom’s first home appearance for the province, extended the CA Brumbies’ unbeaten run at Canberra Stadium over the Lions (formerly the Cats) to nine matches.

While the home side’s commitment to expansive rugby was evident, the rain and fog lingering over Canberra made it far from ideal conditions for executing their intended game plan.

Giteau, whose return to Canberra Stadium was marked with another unblemished goal kicking display, said while he appreciated the win, his side needed to convert their wins into bonus-point victories.

“We planned all week on it being dry so we wanted to throw the ball around,” he said. “In previous weeks we’d played a pretty tight, disciplined game but we wanted to throw it around tonight. Unfortunately the conditions didn’t allow that.

“We still created things but I think as a team we’ve got to be harder on ourselves.

“It was a good win but we need to start getting bonus points.”

Opposing flyhalves Giteau and Burton Francis swapped goals in the first 15 minutes of the match in a half that was plagued by spilt ball and penalties.

The CA Brumbies’ scrum asserted its dominance through the first term with three consecutive scrum penalties resulting in a yellow card to Lions tighthead prop Kevin Buys in the 25th minute. Ten minutes later the CA Brumbies’ scrum converted their supremacy into points with a penalty try giving Giteau a straightforward conversion and the side a 10-3 half-time lead.

Francis doubled the Lions’ score two minutes into the second term with a second penalty goal before Christian Lealiifano, who scored the match-winning try in the corresponding fixture two years ago, again touched down against the Johannesburg-based side. Lealiifano’s five-pointer was created through a neat inside ball from Josh Valentine to Stephen Hoiles before the CA Brumbies captain passed on to his inside centre to cross adjacent to the posts after 47 minutes.

The Lions were quick to respond when replacement hooker Hannes Franklin dove through a ruck on the CA Brumbies’ line to score four minutes later and draw his side closer at 17-13.

CA Brumbies hooker Stephen Moore then charged over for his second try of the season when he drove through and around the fringe defence from the base of a ruck to help extend the lead to 24-13.

TMO George Ayoub denied the CA Brumbies their fourth-try bonus point on two occasions in the final 20 minutes; the first when man-of-the-match Josh Valentine was deemed to have knocked the ball on in the process of diving over down a short blind side before Lions substitute Wandile Mjekevu pulled off a miraculous tackle to prevent winger Pat McCabe from grounding the football with eight minutes remaining.

The CA Brumbies return to Canberra Stadium next Saturday (13 March) when they will front the Sharks.

MATCH DETAILS
CA Brumbies 24 (Christian Lealiifano, Stephen Moore, penalty tries; Matt Giteau 3/3 conversions, 1/1 penalty goals) defeated Lions 13 (Hannes Franklin try; Burton Francis 1/1 conversions, 2/3 penalty goals) at Canberra Stadium, Canberra.
Half time: CA Brumbies 10-3
Referee: Steve Walsh (Aus)
Crowd: 13,177

CA Brumbies
1. Ben Alexander
2. Stephen Moore
3. Salesi Ma’afu
4. Ben Hand
5. Mark Chisholm
6. Rocky Elsom
7. George Smith
8. Stephen Hoiles (c)
9. Josh Valentine
10. Matt Giteau
11. Francis Fainifo
12. Christian Lealiifano
13. Stirling Mortlock
14. Pat McCabe
15. Adam Ashley-Cooper

Reserves
16. Huia Edmonds
17. Guy Shepherdson
18. Justin Harrison
19. Mitchell Chapman
20. Patrick Phibbs
21. Matt Toomua
22. Tyrone Smith

Replacements
16. Huia Edmonds for 2. Stephen Moore (55th minute)
18. Justin Harrison for 5. Mark Chisholm (55th minute)
22. Tyrone Smith for 11. Francis Fainifo (56th minute)
19. Mitchell Chapman for 6 Rocky Elsom (65th minute)
17. Guy Shepherdson for 3. Salesi Ma’afu (68th minute)
20. Patrick Phibbs for 9. Josh Valentine (72nd minute)

Lions
1. JC Janse van Rensburg
2. Charles Emslie
3. Kevin Buys
4. George Earl
5. Willem Stoltz
6. Cobus Grobbelaar (c)
7. Derick Minnie
8. Todd Clever
9. JP Joubert
10. Burton Francis
11. Dusty Noble
12. Doppies la Grange
13. Walter Venter
14. Tonderai Chavhanga
15. Michael Killian

Reserves
16. Hannes Franklin
17. Heinke van der Merwe
18. Jacques Lombaard
19. Franco van der Merwe
20. Jacques Coetzee
21. Wandile Mjekevu
22. Earl Rose

Replacements
<Not Recorded>

NEXT GAME:
Investec Bank Super 14: Week Five
CA Brumbies v Sharks
Canberra Stadium, Canberra
Saturday, 13 March 2010

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