Chiefs v Brumbies - both sides lose in Canberra draw

Jono Gibbes

Chiefs 28 Brumbies 28


Jono Gibbes' slip of the tongue was understandable as he tried to get his head around how the Chiefs had dominated most relevant aspects of the match yet finished up splitting the points in Canberra.

"I don't know what to feel, happy we drew or disappointed we lost. I'm not sure," Gibbes said.

In a way it was a loss for both sides as the result did neither any favours. The way the other games went a win for either would have left them still theoretically in the semifinal hunt next weekend.

Still, there were four tries apiece in Brumbies favourite Owen Finegan's final home game, and some dazzling play interspersed with wobbly defence to provide plenty of entertainment.

The reaction of the players at the final whistle, however, told the story - a draw suited no one. Despite fatigue, they looked like they fancied another five minutes to sort out a winner.

When the Chiefs look at the statistics, they'll see they had the better of possession, spent 60 per cent of the game in the Brumbies half and were superior in ruck/maul and lineout counts, where Gibbes was outstanding, ably supported by Bernie Upton and Wayne Ormond.

They should have won it, yet trailed 21-7 at halftime and 28-14 going into the final quarter as the Brumbies demonstrated the importance of taking chances.

Halfback Matt Henjak - the general state of his pink-tufted hair suggesting a bad meeting with a hedge trimmer - ducked inside Gibbes for an early opening try.

Matt Giteau and Mortlock - who looked as if they were rehearsing their lines for Tri-Nations time - combined for another after a sloppy Chiefs lineout and Giteau slipping past tackles with Mortlock on hand for the inside flip pass; before burly Finegan rumbled across in three Chiefs tackles to give the crowd what they'd hoped for.

Yet the Chiefs had had the better of the general run of the half, the only downsides some sloppy tackling, three successive lost lineouts before Scott Linklater regained his radar, and the departure of halfback Byron Kelleher, with a potentially serious groin strain.

Their only try came after strong runs from Ormond and Steven Bates, Niva Ta'auso finishing it off.

The Chiefs again dominated the bulk of the second half, playing with extra urgency and plenty of panache.

Tighthead prop Ben Castle got them back in the game with his first Super 12 try, diving across like all good front rowers in the lefthand corner, after a Brumbies turnover and smart work from Stephen Donald, Ormond and David Hill.

But Mortlock, coming from deep and with a decent head of steam up, powered between Donald and Hill to regain the 14-point advantage.

A stroke of good fortune closed the gap when replacement Sione Lauaki dropped a ball forward, it was missed by the officials and Ta'auso, to his surprise and delight, skipped away for his second brace of tries in a week.

When Sitiveni Sivivatu got around his marker, Clyde Rathbone, and Hill converted magnificently for his 100 points for the season, it was all locked up with 11 minutes left.

Hill could have won it, for the second time in the half missing a straightforward penalty, this time from 16m, after referee Tappe Henning finally penalised the Brumbies at the fifth scrum reset seven minutes from the end.

Now the Chiefs find themselves in the role of semifinal spoilers, hosting the playoff hopefuls the Highlanders in the final round. Saturday's result will have left them muttering "that could have been us" today.