'They just had no answer for it'- The Brumbies' 'ruthless nature' turns heads after win over Waratahs

The Brumbies made a statement on Saturday night, recording an emphatic 51-point win over rivals the Waratahs.

The reigning Super Rugby AU champions were simply unrelenting with their performance, appearing to give it their absolute all right until the very end. Even though they were up 47-10 at the time, the Brumbies went on to score two converted tries in the last nine minutes.

They piled on nine tries to one, which included a hat-trick to winger Mackenzie Hansen. Hansen scored his first Super Rugby try in the 12^th minute, before adding to his tally twice in the second half.

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It was a near faultless performance, from a team who appear as if they’ll be very hard to beat to the title this season.

Speaking on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, former Blues hooker and captain, James Parsons, spoke highly about the “ruthless nature” of the Brumbies, as seen in round two.

“I mean the Brumbies are good and they will be tough to beat don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t like the Waratahs weren’t giving it their all,” Parsons said on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod. “They’re a slick operation the Brumbies.

“They were just relentless and they [the Waratahs] just had no answer for it. The ruthless nature, the Waratahs were still attacking on the 80-minute mark, and the Brumbies were flying off their defensive line.

“It was 61-10. You could forgive them for just being relaxed a little but they were flying defensively, you could hear them all calling their defensive calls, and they were just not going to let the Waratahs score.

“It’s their attitude and the ruthless nature in their standards and their culture, they’re just relentless in their preparation during the week and it goes through until the weekend.”

Crusaders scrum-half Bryn Hall was asked by host Ross Karl about the pressure that Waratahs coach Rob Penney is now under.

Penney coached Hall at the New Zealand Under-20s level, and does have some other notable experience in the sport.

The Waratahs have lost back-to-back matches to open their season, by a combined 85-points. But assistant coach Chris Whitaker has called for “patience” as the young side look to improve.#superrugbyau #WARvFORhttps://t.co/wW9Jl44md3

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 1, 2021

But his job is under pressure at the moment, with their points differential at the moment currently -85.

“He’s a guy that was a mentor to Scott Robertson as well so his coaching credentials and the way he is as a coach, he’s a really good coach,” Hall said on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod. “ But unfortunately it takes a bit of time to build on all these young guys, especially at Super Rugby level.

“Rob’s a great coach and again, you’ve just got to go through some teething problems unfortunately, the Waratahs supporters probably don’t want to hear that again but again it’s really early in the comp.”

For the Waratahs, their focus now shifts to the Western Force in Western Sydney (Bankwest Stadium) on Friday night. Both teams will be looking for a much-needed win to get their seasons back on track.

If the Force do manage to win on Friday night, then it’ll also be their first win in Super Rugby since returning from rugby exile at the start of last year’s Super Rugby AU season.

For the Brumbies, they’re set for a tough test against the Melbourne Rebels at GIO Stadium. The Rebels themselves are coming off an agonising 23-21 loss to the Reds in Brisbane, where Matt To’omua missed what would’ve been a match-winning penalty attempt after the siren.

“It was a great game, it was actually a tight-fought game. Although there were penalties here and there, it was entertaining footy,” Parsons said.

Round three of Super Rugby AU kicks-off on Friday night.

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