The Brumbies kept Australian dreams alive on Saturday with a huge second-half performance to down the Hurricanes and book a Super Rugby Pacific semi-final berth against the Blues.
The Canberra side prevented an all-New Zealand presence in the final four with a 35-25 victory on a freezing night, after the Blues beat the Highlanders and the Chiefs crushed the Reds.
The Canes breached the Brumbies defence in the 16th minute with Joshua Moorby finishing off an 18-phase move after Jordie Barrett found him in the corner with a cross-field kick.
But despite a red card to centre Len Ikitau for a high tackle, the Brumbies refused to give up. Moorby ran in his second of the night to send the Canes to the break 22-15 in front. The Brumbies struck back with two penalty goals from Noah Lolesio after the restart, before Tom Banks and Tom Wright crossed to seal a huge win.
Highlights: Blues cruise past Highlanders
“It was an awesome effort, we spoke about our finishers coming on in the last 20 minutes and doing the job for us and we definitely saw that tonight,” said Brumbies skipper Allan Alaalatoa. “It’s great for us moving forward into next week.”
They will face the Blues at Eden Park for a place in the final after the in-form Auckland side overcame a nervous start to race past the Highlanders 35-6.
Having qualified in top spot for the quarter-finals, the Blues looked rattled as they trailed 6-0 after 30 minutes. But they found their rhythm to power home, boosted by two tries to star playmaker Beauden Barrett.
Highlights: Brumbies down Hurricanes
They have now notched 14 straight victories, although they only discovered their attacking fluency after Highlanders hooker Andrew Makalio was shown a red card for a reckless, no-arms tackle midway through the first half.
Akira Ioane put the hosts in front, benefitting from a delightful assist from brother Rieko, before Barrett scythed across to establish a 14-6 lead at half time.
They were not threatened in the second spell, creating tries for Barrett, AJ Lam and former rugby league international Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
Highlights: Chiefs outclass Waratahs
“We took a bit of time to find our groove but that’s probably expected,” said Barrett. “Around finals footy time, everyone can go into their shell but it’s great that we finally expressed ourselves.”
The Blues were without captain Dalton Papalii, who underwent surgery for appendicitis on Friday. The in-form All Blacks loose forward is unlikely to feature in the finals and his availability for the Test series against Ireland in July is also in doubt.
The Highlanders, who only won four of 14 matches to reach the quarters, were also missing All Blacks star power, with half-back Aaron Smith having a groin problem.
Highlights: Crusaders overpower Reds to reach semis
Earlier, Chiefs captain Brad Weber crossed twice as his side outclassed the Waratahs 39-15 in Hamilton to set up a semi-final against the 12-time champion Crusaders, who swept past the Reds 37-15 on Friday.
Alongside halfback Weber’s double were tries to Luke Jacobson, Alex Nankivell and Pita Gus Sowakula.
Weber said the prospect of facing the Crusaders did not fluster him. “What an awesome challenge to play the defending champs at home,” he said. “We’ve beaten them once this season so we’ll look to make it two.”
Photo: RACEY NEARMY/AFP via Getty Images
