Over the weekend, the Brumbies suffered their first defeat in DHL Super Rugby Pacific, defeating the Hurricanes 27-19 thanks to a stronger first half performance.
The Brumbies got off to a strong start, took the lead in the opening quarter, and maintained it into the second, according to Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw.
Into the second half, the Brumbies pinned the Hurricanes for long periods to their half. While the Hurricanes scored a try to get back in the game, the home team, Brumbies, managed to keep them at arm’s length through their defence and a lack of execution by the competition leaders.
Despite the loss, Laidlaw was optimistic, stating that the game felt like a playoff and that it was a valuable experience for the team. He emphasised the Hurricanes’ determination to bounce back, knowing that to win the competition, they would need to overcome formidable teams like the Brumbies, the Waratahs, and the Blues, their upcoming opponents.
“I’m excited about what we can learn from this and what we take into the Waratahs game next week.”
Captain Brad Shields said the team was flat and disappointed with the loss.
“A few times in that game, we could have changed the momentum and how the game could have gone. We didn’t capitalise in certain areas of the field, or we coughed up the pill too easily.
“It’s important that the boys are disappointed. They don’t like losing, but you’ve got to use that as motivation and drive to get things better.
“We have to make sure that we don’t think we turn into a poor team overnight, because we’ve been some really good things and still won snippets of that game, but we couldn’t quite string it together multiple times, and that’s what we’ve been good at all season.”
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