Brumbies edge Wellington 17-16 in Super 15
Updated: April 09, 2011, 08:00
CANBERRA, Australia(AP) Flyhalf Matt Giteau kicked four penalties as the ACT Brumbies edged the Wellington Hurricanes 17-16 in a lackluster match between two strugglers in Super 15 rugby on Saturday.
Leading 11-10 at halftime, the Brumbies got two more penalties from Giteau to clinch the match.
Each team scored a try in the first half - Aaron Cruden in the fourth minute for the Hurricanes off the first scrum of the match, and winger Henry Speight two minutes from halftime to put the Brumbies ahead.
The Brumbies won only their second match in seven, while Wellington, last in the New Zealand conference, dropped to its fifth loss in seven.
The smallest Canberra crowd in more than a decade - 12,333 - watched ACT end a five-match losing streak when Giteau put the Brumbies ahead for good with a 62nd-minute penalty. It was the Brumbies' first win against Wellington since 2006.
As the match progressed, the Brumbies' scrum gained ascendancy to place pressure on their opponent's first-phase ball.
Josh Valentine sniped at a ruck before several passes to Fijian winger Speight, who stepped twice off his left foot to score his first try of the season.
Speight started the match on the right wing before switching to the other flank following Adam Ashley-Cooper's departure for a hip injury.
Momentum was with the Hurricanes initially as the visitors dominated possession and territory.
Cruden gave Wellington the early lead after he followed his chargedown of Brumbies fullback Matt Toomua's clearing kick to slide over the tryline ahead of Ashley-Cooper in the fourth minute.
"It was a really pleasing effort, we stayed in there,'' said Giteau, who appeared to suffer a rib injury near the end of the match. "It wasn't pretty, but we got the win.''
Hurricanes captain Andrew Hore said "we seem to be making our rugby pretty hard at the moment.''
"The Brumbies took their chances pretty well,'' Hore added. "We are trying to score right away, when we need to hold on to the ball a bit more. We need to regroup and start playing some good rugby.''
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ACT 17 (Henry Speight try; Matt Giteau 4 penalties), Wellington 16 (Aaron Cruden try; Daniel Kirkpatrick 2 penaltiies, Cruden penalty, conversion). HT: 11-10.
