The Brumbies snapped a 13-game losing streak against Kiwi opposition with a brilliant win at GIO Stadium.
What are we talking about after the 24-12 result?
1. Fringe Wallabies fire
Joe Powell, Tom Banks, Folau Faingaa, Tevita Kuridrani and Rory Arnold all lined up for the Brumbies having featured very little or not at all in June and Wallabies coach Michael Cheika would have been thrilled with what he saw. Powell was authoritative in directing the Brumbies attack, Banks was at his line busting best, Faingaa was eating metres with ball in hand while hitting all his throws, Kuridrani provided a big presence on both sides of the ball and Arnold played one of his best games this season. More Test caps are on the horizon for this quintet.
2. Pocock enemy number one
David Pocock was targeted off ball all night, culminating in a dangerous neck roll from Hurricanes No. 8 Gareth Evans in the second half. Evans was lucky to avoid a card and officials must take better care of the star openside flanker, who is at risk of serious injury if opposition teams continue to pursue dangerous tactics in an attempt to nullify his impact.
3. Sio sore and sorry
Scott Sio was replaced in the 15th minute and Fox Sports reported a shoulder complaint as the reason for his departure during the broadcast. No vision of the incident which injured the star prop was replayed, though, so the severity of said shoulder injury is not yet known. Here's hoping it isn't too long a stint on the sideline.
4. Perenara's peculiar night
WHAT!! @Tj_Perenara 👏👏 #BRUvHUR pic.twitter.com/U4AcVTfH1r
— Rugby Mad ‼️🏉 (@RugbyMadsa) June 30, 2018
TJ Perenara scored a spectacular Superman style five pointer to draw first blood but his night was otherwise dour - filled with complaints swatted away by referee Nick Briant. The Kiwi referee was not having a bar of Perenara's repeated complaints, which seemed to creep under the skin of Pocock as well.
5. Brumbies keep finals hopes alive
The win keeps the Brumbies' slim finals hopes alive, though they still remain longshots with away trips to face the Chiefs and Waratahs their run home. Drop one of those games and those slim hopes will be eliminated but if they play like they did tonight, they're every chance of upsets in both fixtures.
