Replacement scrumhalf Ryan Lonergan yesterday kicked a monster penalty from his own half after the hooter to secure a dramatic 27-24 bonus-point victory for the ACT Brumbies over the Melbourne Rebels in their Super Rugby AU clash in Canberra.
The game looked to be headed for golden try extra-time with the scores level before Lonergan launched a massive kick that narrowly crossed above the crossbar to secure an eighth home win in a row for the Brumbies and maintain their 100 percent start to the new season with a third successive victory.
The Brumbies lost skipper Allan Alaalatoa to a red card just before halftime, although competition rules allowed him to be replaced after 20 minutes, but they scored three tries via center Len Ikitau, fullback Tom Banks and a penalty try to secure the bonus point.
Photo: AFP
Flyhalf Matt Toomua kicked eight penalties for the visitors, who led 12-10 at halftime, but could not make their numerical advantage count.
Meanwhile, Rob Penney yesterday said that his future as head coach of the New South Wales Waratahs could be uncertain after seeing his side lose their third straight game on Friday.
The Waratahs slipped to a 20-16 defeat at the hands of a Western Force side reduced to 14 men for the final 15 minutes after replacement hooker Andrew Ready was shown a red card.
“I don’t know. You’ll answer that for us,” the Sydney Morning Herald reported Penney as saying when asked about his future with the team. “You can dissect the minutia of the whole performance. We made a few too many errors, they made a few less. There’s the result.”
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