Following the Brumbies’ 35-28 triumph over the Hurricanes in their Super Rugby Pacific play-off clash at GIO Stadium in Canberra on Saturday, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the thrilling action.

The top line

After Super Rugby Pacific’s defending champions, the Blues, who were the bottom seeds in the competition’s play-offs, got the better of the top-seeded Chiefs in Saturday’s earlier match, it meant that this was a do-or-die match for the Brumbies and Hurricanes.

As expected, this was a tight battle and the match was in the balance throughout, although the home side got the rub of the green in the end and outscored the Hurricanes by five tries to four.

The visitors made the brighter start and opened the scoring via a Ruben Love try, but the sides were level at 7-7 by the 10th minute after the Brumbies responded with a five-pointer from Billy Pollard.

Another converted Hurricanes try from Fehi Fineanganofo gave them a 14-7 lead by the 20th minute, but the Brumbies finished the half stronger and held a 21-14 lead at half-time after Allan Alaalatoa and Pollard crossed for more five-pointers.

The hosts extended their lead to 14 points when Tom Wright scored their fourth converted try early in the second half before Bailyn Sullivan crossed for a five-pointer in the 54th minute.

The Brumbies responded with a James Slipper try on the hour mark. But the Hurricanes made it a seven-point game again when Pasilio Tosi got his name on the scoresheet in the 67th minute with another five-pointer for the men from Wellington.

That was the last time points would be scored; however, as the Brumbies held for the victory, which sees them book their spot in the semi-finals.

Tom Wright in fine form ahead of Lions series

With the places in Australia’s side for their upcoming three-Test series against the British & Irish up for grabs, several of the Brumbies players should be in the running to make Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt’s squad when it’s announced later this month.

One player who gave Schmidt a timely reminder of his abilities is full-back Wright who came to the fore with a fine attacking display in this encounter.

As usual, he was safe under the high ball and did a superb job in the last line of defence, but made his biggest impact on attack where he proved a real handful to his opponents.

Wright was a constant threat on attack as he finished with a match-high 83 metres gained from nine runs, which included two clean breaks, five defenders and a well-taken try for his efforts.

The 27-year-old finished the Wallabies’ 2024 end-of-year tour as their first choice number 15 but with the highly rated Joseph Suaalii – who featured at centre for Australia last year – playing almost exclusively in that position for the Waratahs in Super Rugby Pacific, it will be interesting to see who Schmidt selects at full-back to take on the Lions.

Super Rugby ‘rewarding failure’

While the Brumbies finished on the winning side in this fixture, it meant that it’s the end of the road for the Hurricanes, and that’s the way it should be in a play-off situation, right?

Unfortunately, that’s not the case as in that earlier game between the Chiefs and Blues, Clayton McMillan’s side finished on the losing side but still advanced to the semi-finals and – remarkably – will host their last four clash against the Brumbies in Hamilton next Saturday.

That might sound very confusing to the average rugby fan, but it’s exactly what will happen now with the Crusaders hosting the Blues in the other semi-final in Christchurch on Friday.

In the end, the Chiefs always knew that they would be in the semi-final regardless of the outcome of their match against the Blues, as they finished atop the Super Rugby Pacific table after the league phase of the competition.

And although they have lost home ground advantage for the rest tournament, the truth of the matter is Super Rugby Pacific‘s organisers are rewarding failure with their controversial change in the play-offs format sure to be a talking point until the end of the competition.

Cam Roigard fails to fire for the Hurricanes

Roigard came into this fixture as one of the Hurricanes’ genuine attacking weapons, but despite trying hard to get his team onto the front foot, he made little headway.

The 24-year-old, who finished the 2024 season as the All Blacks’ first-choice scrum-half, was one of the Wellington-based outfit’s best players this year, but he battled to build momentum as the Brumbies defence kept him in check during his stint on the field.

Usually brilliant at close quarters – especially around the fringes of the rucks and mauls – Roigard provided little threat with ball in hand and finished the match with a paltry four metres gained.

Although he tried gallantly to break down the Brumbies defence with a moment of magic – especially when the Hurricanes were chasing the game in the second half – it proved to be an exercise in futility. He was eventually replaced by Ere Enari in the dying moments of this match.

Brumbies forward power lays the foundation to victory

The home side’s pack deserve plenty of credit for securing this result as they held the edge over their counterparts in the forward exchanges and laid an excellent platform for their backs.

The front-row of captain Allan Alaalatoa, fellow prop James Slipper and hooker Billy Pollard caught the eye with outstanding shifts during their stints on the field.

Apart from the trio doing what is expected of them in the execution of their core duties, they were also responsible for 15 points between them, with Pollard leading the way with a brace of tries while Slipper also crossed the whitewash.

The rest of the forwards were not far behind with the likes of Rob Valetini and Nick Frost leading the way with superb physicality on defence, while Alaalatoa was not far behind in that department.

READ MORE: Blues player ratings: All Blacks snub produces ‘statement shift’ as Beauden Barrett’s masterclass seals semi-final spot

Source: Planet Rugby