A storm delayed kick-off, and a storm of late points at the death saw the ACT Brumbies fall to the Queensland Reds in heartbreaking fashion, 34–31.
It took until the 83rd minute, but it was Reds fly-half Carter Gordon who delivered the final blow, finding space out wide and sliding over for the match-winning try.
With both teams celebrating ‘Club Rugby Round’, it was a clash meant to harken back to the rugby days of old. That was until the sky darkened and thunderclouds rolled in. Nearby lightning delayed the game for 90 minutes but, when the teams eventually kicked off, both sides were eager to make up for lost time.
The belated start created a restless and ready crowd at GIO Stadium, but the mood was quickly brightened when Lachie Shaw crashed over from close range. A line-out turned maul close to the line gave the big second-rower the chance to pick and go and put his side on the board in the 3rd minute. The Brumbies’ pressure continued after the Reds struggled to clear the ball out of their own half, and the home team made them pay when Hudson Creighton linked up with Charlie Cale to gallop through a gap on the short side and give his side a 12–0 lead in the opening 10 minutes.
The ACT v Queensland rivalry has intensified in recent years, and tonight the Reds came to play. The visitors answered back in the 12th minute when they forced a knock-on in the opposition half and punched through the line as the Brumbies struggled to hold back the charging Queensland forward pack. An inside ball from captain Harry Wilson put winger Lachie Anderson crashing over the line to close the gap.
Poor discipline from the Brumbies gifted the Reds three points and, after a poor clearance attempt, the game was turned on its head — and not for the last time. The Reds scored another seven points after slick hands put Jock Campbell through for a try, putting the Queenslanders up 12–17 after 21 minutes.
An offside penalty from Wilson gave the Brumbies a chance to get back to basics with their second try of the game — a pick and go from Cale to claim his second of the game and his seventh for the season.
Another penalty gave the Reds the final say of the half, slotting three more points to make it 19–20 at half-time.
The rain delays meant a shortened break at half-time and both teams emerged from the changerooms needing to fix their discipline.
Kye Oates, who earned his Super Rugby debut after Corey Toole and Ollie Sapsford both withdrew this week due to injury, looked dangerous to begin the half, gliding through the defence after fielding kicks in the backfield. Man of the Match Ryan Lonergan was also threatening, slicing through off a quick tap in the 60th minute before livewire fullback Andy Muirhead dove over from the ensuing rucks. With the conversion bouncing off the posts, the Brumbies regained a hard-fought lead.
With eight minutes remaining, the game flipped again. Filipo Daugunu scored next, managing to somehow keep his knees from the ground in a tackle before rolling over to find the try line. 27–31 with 90 seconds to spare.
The Queenslanders got away with what looked like a knock-on from the kick-off before travelling nearly 80 metres downfield to camp on the Brumbies’ line. It was from there the unthinkable happened and, from a centrefield breakdown, the men in maroon shifted wide right. Gordon took the ball, found space inside the winger and crashed over to put his side ahead for the overtime win.
The Brumbies next head to Fiji to take on the Drua on Saturday 14 March, kick-off at 2.35PM AEDT.
