Take that: Brumbies thump Waratahs for sweet revenge
The rampant ACT Brumbies have restored order and dealt the NSW Waratahs' finals hopes a hammer blow with a 40-17 Super Rugby Pacific statement win in the national capital.
In the shadows of parliament house, the benchmark Brumbies piled on three quickfire second-half tries to emulate Labor's landslide election victory on Saturday night and retain Australian rugby bragging rights in emphatic fashion.
The freakish Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii briefly offered the Waratahs hope of completing a first season derby double over the Brumbies in a decade before a refereeing howler turned the tide at GIO Stadium.
The Brumbies never looked back after being the beneficiaries of a series of missed forward passes in the lead-up to a Billy Pollard try that gifted the home team a 19-12 halftime lead.
But there was no denying the Brumbies were the superior team in a pulsating derby that would have encouraged Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt.
Brumbies winger Corey Toole again showcased his claims for a Test call-up with another electrifying double while the code-crossing Suaalii was again enormous in a losing team.
Schmidt might also have to reconsider his omission of Waratahs No.8 Langi Gleeson from his pre-season Wallabies camp after another mighty display.
In the end, though, the Brumbies had too much class, consolidating third spot on the ladder to enhance their top-three finals hopes and a crucial home play-off after withstanding a spirited first-half fightback from the Tahs.
Stung by last week's home loss to the Hurricanes, the Brumbies came out firing, dominating the opening quarter and surprising the Waratahs with the first try from a lineout.
Instead of deploying their deadly driving maul, the Brumbies quickly shifted the ball left to Toole, who strolled over in acres of space.
A yellow card for a no-arms tackle from Jake Gordon on Rob Valetini compounded the Waratahs' woes, and the pair's Wallabies teammate Len Ikitau wasted no time cashing in on the one-man advantage with the Brumbies' second try.
Down 12-0 and camped in their own half, the Tahs needed inspiration and it came from Gleeson, who snapped up an intercept and raced away to put his team on the board in the 18th minute.
Suaalii locked the game up at 12-12 when he ran a hard line to storm over from a NSW lineout.
Suddenly it was game on.
But the Waratahs had every right to be fuming after Angus Gardner, hailed as one of world rugby's best referees, missed a succession of glaring forward passes that gifted Pollard the first of his try-scoring double eight minutes before halftime.
The Brumbies rode their officiating luck, then the momentum into the second half with three more tries after the break to skipper Allan Alaalatoa, Pollard and Toole to blow the game open.
Wholehearted winger Andrew Kellaway crossed for a consolation try late for the Waratahs, who will need some serious soul searching to make the finals following a fifth straight loss away from home this campaign.
After orchestrating the Tahs' first win over the Brumbies since 2018 six weeks ago, coach Dan McKellar came crashing back to earth on his homecoming against his long-time former outfit in Canberra.
The Waratahs slipped to eighth on the ladder and desperately needing to beat the Queensland Reds in another Australian derby next Friday night to stay in the finals hunt.
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