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Brumbies thrash Ben Te'o's Sunwolves

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images for SUNWOLVES)

The Brumbies have clinched their first bonus-point victory of the Super Rugby season and gone top of the ladder after dispatching the Sunwolves 47-14.

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The match was played in the unusual timeslot of Friday afternoon after coronavirus concerns saw the game relocated from Japan to Wollongong.

The Brumbies were in control for most of the contest and halfback Ryan Lonergan’s 55 minutes were superb in his first Super Rugby start.

Rookie flyhalf Noah Lolesio continued his stellar season in the seven-try romp as the Brumbies moved to four wins and one loss after six rounds.

Lonergan scored and converted the opening try before flankers Will Miller and Rob Valetini crossed for tries in the opening 40 minutes.

Sunwolves hooker Efi Maafu scored his first Super Rugby try from a strong rolling maul in the 35th minute to keep his side in the hunt at 21-7 at half-time.

The Sunwolves’ set-piece was solid all afternoon but the Brumbies piled on four second-half tries through Toni Pulu, Tevita Kuridrani, Solomone Kata and Joe Powell.

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The finishing efforts from wingers Pulu and Kata were particularly impressive as both touched down in the corner with just millimetres to spare.

The Sunwolves scored a consolation try in the 72nd minute through lock Mike Stolberg but still have just one win from their opening five games this season.

Lonergan nailed all five of his conversions, including three from the sideline in a performance that puts all sorts of pressure on incumbent Powell who scored in the final minute.

– AAP

WATCH: Jim discusses the ramifications of the Six Nations going behind a pay wall and no longer being shown on free to watch TV.

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Flankly 2 hours ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

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