Super W: Queensland hold on to beat Brumbies 12-0 in Ballymore grind

Sat, Mar 16, 2019, 6:00 AM
Emma Greenwood
by Emma Greenwood
A Cecilia Smith double has returned Queensland Women to the winner's circle after downing the Brumbies at Ballymore on Saturday evening.

Queensland women's captain Kiri Lingman says her side will take the next fortnight to work on finessing their attack after being pushed to the limit in their 12-0 Super W win against the Brumbies.

While they kept the visitors scoreless, Queensland were frustrated for much of the match, failing to convert a wealth of possession into points.

Classy centre Cecelia Smith's double helped seal the win but the home side struggled to put points on the board in the face of a relentless and committed Brumbies defence.

With a bye in next week's final round of the regular season, Queensland now have a fortnight to prepare for a home preliminary final, that could pit them against the Brumbies again.

After a narrow defeat at the hands of defending premiers NSW last week, Queensland made several changes for their final regular-season match but have been unable to find consistency in a scrappy match.

After a stormy night and another steamy day in Brisbane and three games on the main Ballymore field ahead of the Super W clash, the women faced a greasy ball and occasional looseness underfoot.

But the Brumbies' pressure also affected Queensland, who failed to execute their plays well.

"You've just got to keep your cool and get the girls to keep going," Lingman said of frustration during the match.

"I think defensively we did an excellent job to hold them out for so long, so we'll just focus on the positives from that.

"It gives us a chance to go away and work on things.

Amy Turner of Queensland loses the ball in the tackle during the round four Super W match between Queensland Women and the Brumbies Women at Ballymore Stadium on March 16, 2019 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

"Two weeks is a long time in the rugby world and a good chance for us to work on that."

Coach Moana Virtue said discipline would be the focus of the next fortnight, with Queensland squandering opportunities and getting frustrated, something they could not continue in the finals.

"It was a really stop-start game and it was hard to get any momentum," Virtue said.

"We really needed that (challenge) and the Brumbies, for all the year I've know them, they've always been that team that stick around and hunts you all day and they're really physical.

"The good thing is we've come out with no bumps and bruises and even though we were on defence a lot, we held our own and they didn't score any tries."

Virtue said it was pleasing her team was creating opportunities but they needed to work on execution.

"If we play in the right areas and we stick to our game plan, we are seeing some pay from what we're trying to establish," she said.

"In regards to defence, it was a lot better.

"Just our discipline, that's a huge thing we have to try and fix up leading into the finals.

"Next (match), we've got to come ready to rumble."

Brumbies captain Shellie Milward said she was thrilled with the defensive effort from her side, although disappointed not to be able to convert their pressure into points.

"It was a tough one to take," Milward said of the loss.

"I thought we were unlucky not to get a couple of points in the end."

But she said the Brumbies still believed in themselves. Carly Hill of the Brumbies kicks the ball during the round four Super W match between Queensland Women and the Brumbies Women at Ballymore Stadium on March 16, 2019 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

"I've always known we're contenders," she said.

"We've got the heart and I think that shows in our defence.

"We're happy to put in an 80-minute defensive effort if we have to, to defend our line.

"Defence does win games sometimes but we just couldn't get across the line tonight.

"We knew we had to win this one to get a home semi-final.

"We've got to regroup now and get ready for WA next week."

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