Lions 29
Brumbies 20
The Lions have recorded their first-ever win over the Brumbies with a 29-20 victory at Canberra Stadium.
Elton Jantjies starred for the Lions as they took apart the Canberrans in cold conditions.
Earlier in the night, Chiefs fullback Mils Muliaina recorded his 100th Super Rugby appearance. Brumbies captain Matt Giteau matched that achievement, but couldn't celebrate with a win.
It took the Australians ten minutes to open the scoring when they worked the left-side and were rewarded for their patience. Hooker Stephen Moore crashed through some poor tackles to score.
Patrick Cilliers was harshly sin-binned for the Lions for a late tackle on 17 minutes but, despite being a man down, they managed to claw back a try. Michael Rhodes dotted down after the Lions won the line-out and drove towards the line.
Half an hour in, terrific forward play from the Lions laid the platform for the away side's second try. Quick hands from the backs spread the ball wide and JC Janse van Rensburg put the Lions up 12-10.
The visitors started the second half strongly and were quick to inflict further punishment on the Brumbies. With only four minutes of the half played, Jantjies sent a delightful pass to Alwyn Hollenbach to score under the posts.
Giteau managed to stem the flow of Lions pressure with a penalty goal to bring the score to 22-13.
But the Lions quickly hit back again. Some nifty footwork and a no-look pass from 20-year-old Jantjies sent Jaco Taute through under the posts to ensure the Lions grabbed a 4-try bonus point.
With five minutes left to play, Andrew Smith gave the home fans something to cheer about when he finished off a Brumbies break-away.
LIONS 29 (Alwyn Hollenbach, Michael Rhodes, Jaco Taute, Deon van Rensburg tries Elton Jantjies 3 cons pen) bt BRUMBIES 20 (Stephen Moore, Andrew Smith tries Matt Giteau 2 cons 2 pens) at Canberra Stadium. Referee: Nathan Pearce. Crowd: 10,122.
- Herald online
