Brumbies Victory over French champions

[mudskipper]

Brumbies knock over French champions
01/08/2009 | 11:36 AM

The Brumbies claimed the first scalp of their French Tour after defeating reigning Top 14 champion USA Perpignan 17-0 at Stade Aime Giral on Friday night.

It was a comprehensive defensive performance for the visitors, who held the seven-time French premiers at bay throughout, and was even more impressive after being reduced to 14 men when scrumhalf Josh Valentine was sidelined with a yellow card for an early scuffle.

The Brumbies took a 10-0 lead into half-time thanks to a penalty goal from Christian Lealiifano and a try through Patrick Phibbs, who ran 70m to score under the posts following a quick turnover.

After resisting USA Perpignan in a frenetic opening to the second stanza, the Brumbies sealed the result 10 minutes from full-time when lock Ben Hand charged over.

Brumbies coach Tony Rea was proud of his side's ability to scramble in defence.

"The guys prepared well and had their heads on for what was a tough match," he said.

"We learned where we needed to be physical from the first two games and we were able to bully them on the ball and we were rewarded for it. We realised that we needed to win every collision for the 80 minutes, we did and we got the result."

"This tour has been a very demanding one. There's been a lot of travel, many sleepless nights and limited opportunities for training but tonight the team showed a lot of character. Tonight the tough times on the field moulded the team as a group rather than broke them."

The win came at a cost, however, with Alfi Mafi (suspected broken fibula) and Peter Kimlin (shoulder) unavailable for the final tour match against Toulon, while the fitness of captain Stephen Hoiles (knee) will be determined in the lead-in to Thursday's fixture.


http://canberra.iprime.com.au/index....mpions,9152011


One of the all time great Brumbies victories.... Well done boys and all without their flashy Wallabies... Pergignan even paraded their Top 14 trophy around the ground prior to kick off...

[Endurance]

Good to see young Faingaa starting at 7 and holding his own. Looking promising.

[Sheikh]

... when scrumhalf Josh Valentine was sidelined with a yellow card for an early scuffle.

Nice to see Valo still mixing it up. I presume it was a forward he picked on.

[mudskipper]

Brumbies beat French champs...

The Brumbies have claimed the first scalp of their French tour, defeating reigning Top 14 champions Perpignan 17-0 at Stade Aimé Giral.

The win was built on an improved physical display and a phenomenal defensive performance with the visitors holding their hosts at bay throughout the match.

Leading 10-0 at half-time, the Brumbies were forced to defend their own line for the first 20 minutes of the second half - continually repelling wave after wave of French pick-and-drive of up to nine phases at a time.

The defensive achievement was all the more impressive with the side forced to do so with only fourteen men after scrum-half Josh Valentine was sidelined with a yellow card for an early scuffle.

The Brumbies started in emphatic fashion with outside centre Andrew Smith breaking through from the first line-out of the match. Smith was dragged down two metres from the Perpignan line with an infringement from the ensuing ruck giving fly-half Christian Lealiifano a straightforward penalty goal.

Patrick Phibbs extended the lead midway through the half when quick turnover ball inside the Brumbies' half saw the zippy scrum-half run 70 metres to score under the posts and give his side a 10-point advantage at the break.

Having survived countless raids on their own line in the opening stages of the second stanza, the Brumbies sealed the result 10 minutes from full-time when lock Ben Hand charged over under the posts.

Pat McCabe was a stand-out for the Brumbies in the breakthrough win. The Brumbies full-back was consistently strong in contact and highlighted his performance with a strong kicking game while the halves combination of Phibbs and Lealiifano moved the ball quickly and controlled the play well.

The forwards were well served by hooker Nathan Charles, prop Jerry Yanuyanutawa and flanker Colby Faingaa, who shrugged off an early head knock to remain of his side's best.

Brumbies coach Tony Rea was proud of his side's ability to scramble in defence and said the tourists showed their true mettle against the French champions.

"The guys prepared well and had their heads on for what was a tough match," he said.

"We learned where we needed to be physically from the first two games and we were able to bully them on the ball and we were rewarded for it. We realised that we needed to win every collision for the 80 minutes, we did and we got the result.

"This tour has been a very demanding one.

"There's been a lot of travel, many sleepless nights and limited opportunities for training but tonight the team showed a lot of character. The tough times on the field moulded the team as a group rather than broke them."

However, the win has come at a cost with Alfi Mafi (suspected broken fibula) and Peter Kimlin (shoulder) unavailable for the final tour match against Toulon, while the fitness of captain Stephen Hoiles (knee) will be determined in the lead in to Thursday's fixture.


http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,2...465375,00.html

---------- Post added at 09:51 ---------- Previous post was at 09:48 ----------

Nice to see Valo still mixing it up. I presume it was a forward he picked on.

Yep.... Val the Iceman.... in the bin... sounded like a rough and tumble encounter... punchy scrum halves are laugh...

---------- Post added at 09:53 ---------- Previous post was at 09:51 ----------

Good to see young Faingaa starting at 7 and holding his own. Looking promising.

there is a lot of belief in this youngster... people believe he will be the best Faingaa brother to make the S14...