Ex-Wallaby heaps praise on high-flying Brumbies after Waratahs win

Former Wallaby Stephen Hoiles believes the high-flying ACT Brumbies look more “balanced” this season than the history-making side who delivered a Super Rugby Au title to the nation’s capital in 2020.

With six wins from seven matches this season, the Brumbies have proven themselves as one of the teams to beat in Super Rugby Pacific this season. After an unconvincing start to the season, which saw them fly under the radar, the Brumbies have begun to hit their stride.

The Brumbies made a statement in mid-March with a drought-breaking 27-21 win over the Highlanders in Dunedin, and they backed that up with a comprehensive win over Moana Pasifika and a clinical win on the road in Brisbane.

But their most recent win in round seven of Super Rugby Pacific has Australian rugby experts talking after the Brumbies thrashed arch-rivals the NSW Waratah 40-16 at Canberra’s GIO Stadium on Saturday evening.

Wallaby Rob Valetini and wing Corey Toole were among those to get their name on the scoresheet as the Brumbies reinstated their status  as “the best Aussie side” in the prestigious southern hemisphere competition.

“They were better than they were a week before against the Rebels, the Tahs, but the scoreline doesn’t reflect that at all,” Stephen Hoiles said on Stan Sports’ Between Two Posts.

“If you take into consideration that you needed to see a response and I think there was an improvement in the Tahs but… the class of the Brumbies just came through.

“You always felt that… every time they needed to get another score or evert pressure, the Brumbies, they just did it, what almost looked effortlessly against them.

“The Brumbies always seem, over this current last few years with (coach) Stephen Larkham, against the Tahs that they seem to always have an extra couple of tricks up their sleeve and they seem a step ahead tactically.

“It probably just highlighted why they’re the best Aussie side at the moment. I know the Reds are playing some good footy but the Tahs, yeah they tried bravely but they’re jut not good enough at the moment.”

Four years ago, Noah Lolesio was the hero for the Australian rugby powerhouse with the young fly-half playing a starring role in the Brumbies’ first Super Rugby title in more than 15 years.

Lolesio, now 24, is still front and centre for the Brumbies in attack as the team’s first-choice No. 10. The dropped Wallaby scored almost half of the Canberra side’s points in their 24-point win over the visiting Waratahs.

But since winning that Super Rugby AU crown, the Brums have made some noticeable changes – differences which make the Canberra-based side even more threatening as they go about their rugby business on the field.

“When they were dominant three to five years ago in Super Rugby and Super Rugby AU and whatnot when COVID was around, they didn’t have the ability to score the points in the number of ways they’ve got points at the moment,” Hoiles explained.

“They were essentially…there was a penalty and (Tom) Banks would kick them within five to eight metres every time… just constant maul tries.

“That was the main weapon they had. Now they’ve got Tom Wright and Corey Toole and they’ve got long-range tries, they’ve got backrowers who are scoring long-range tries.

“They’re a more balanced (side)… It gives me confidence that this style of footy will be able to go to Auckland in the wet and play a style of footy that can compete with that but they can also go to Queensland in the dry in the middle fo August and go toe-to-toe with open-style rugby.”

While they’ve played one more game than the undefeated Hurricanes, the Brumbies are equal on competition points with the men from Wellington. The Brums are third on the ladder behind the Canes and table-topping Blues.