The Brumbies women notched their first Super W win on Friday, but coach Tony Doherty says they need to work on their starts.
Doherty did not mince words about his team’s first half effort but felt they redeemed themselves in the second.
“The second half was (good) but the first half was scrappy,” Doherty said.
“We didn’t stick to game structure but we managed to recalibrate it at half time and put a bit more pressure on the Rebels.
“We got a few more turnovers and executed better in the second half. So again, still not perfect football but an improvement from where we were in the first half.”
Doherty was pleased with the way the Brumbies adapted to the opportunities that presented themselves.
“Something we’re trying to evolve with the girls is not just about sticking to the one structure, but it’s about understanding what they’re seeing and having the opportunity to take the space and basically grab that opportunity," he said.
“We had a couple of good tries today from the turnover ball with the players identifying where they needed to get the ball. So that was a very pleasing aspect of today’s game.”
Winger Darcy Read scored the first try and was instrumental in two more was one of the Brumbies' most impressive and Doherty had plenty of praise for her post-match.
“I thought Darcy Read when she had opportunities on thee wing today backed herself and had a crack and the first try was evidence of that,” he said.
Read was quick to share credit around to the rest of her teammates after the 37-8 win.
“It was really exciting. I think our girls just came together as one,” she said.
“We stuck to our plan getting that ball out wide and the opportunities just arose from that.
“I felt really good out there with all the girls. I think we worked as a team really well. In the second half we came together as one and put our heads down and did what we needed to do.”
Rebels coach Alana Thomas has again taken positives from the Rebels' performance despite a winless run through the season so far.
“A lot better performance again, building off the last couple of weeks that we’ve played and that first half I thought they did really well,” Thomas said.
“They dug in but gave a few penalties away and got scored on, but then we worked our way back up and really stuck to our game-plan and we scored a try, which is something we’ve not been able to do in the first two weeks.
“So it was really good to get that reward for the girls just showing them that sticking at it and working hard and they can get there.”
“I’m really proud of the girls and the effort they threw out there today – I can’t fault that.
The Brumbies will be watching Saturday’s big clash between the Force and Queensland with interest ahead of their final round clash with the WA side.
