Brumbies slip past RugbyWA

Sat, Feb 15, 2020, 8:28 AM
Rugby WA Media
by Rugby WA Media

In a hard-fought match RugbyWA were unable to claw their way back as the Brumbies fire early to secure a round one win.

RugbyWA showed bravery to turn the momentum coming out of the second half however the Brumbies set piece denied them of the comeback finishing the game 29-10 at GIO stadium.

The home side came out of the gate marching getting two early tries on the black and gold giving them a good foundation to start the hit-out.

Hard-hitting forwards Krystal Fyfe and Rebecca Smyth opened the scoring for the Brumbies giving them a 14-0 lead in the first ten minutes of the match.

Wallaroo Ariana Hira-Herangi was determined to keep the game tight, linking up with Wallaroo and RugbyWA teammate Trilleen Pomare early to give RugbyWA good field position.

Debutant Taj Heald left her mark on the match early, gifting Hira-Herangi with RugbyWA’s first try with a magical offload.

Just as the team were able to gain back momentum RugbyWA were hit with another early blow, losing veteran and leader Rebecca Clough to sin-bin as she was sent off for ten for collapsing the maul.

Down to 14 players the RugbyWA Women held strong, however were caught off guard by the experienced Louise Burrows who scored a sneaky try right on RugbyWA’s line sending the score to 21-5.

Late in the first half RugbyWA got on the front foot yet again making metres with little time to spare.

However the lack of possession hurt RugbyWA as the Brumbies sent them to the sheds ending the first half leading by 16 points.

The second half looked to be going in RugbyWA’s favour, with the team from the west able to hold the ball for an extended period in turn enabling them to make metres.

Closing the gap was third year Super W player Darryl Wickliffe who went over for RugbyWA putting her team right back into contention.

With the clock ticking over both teams traded possession, the outside backs from both sides showed class as RugbyWA’s Claudia Nielson and Brumbies’ Darcy Read played well above their weight.

However it was the Brumbies that came through as the rain started to pour with Read being awarded for her hard work with try in the corner.

As the Brumbies ran away with their first win of the Super W season it was clear that their dominance at scrum-time was the key factor in shutting down any resurgence from RugbyWA.

RugbyWA will look for redemption at home in round two of the Super W competition facing the Queensland Reds at Success Sportsplex on Saturday February 22 kicking off at 4:00pm AWST.

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