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Watch: Brumbies run full length of field for dramatic try

(Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

The Brumbies had already secured their status as Australia’s premier Super Rugby side before round 15’s victory over the Melbourne Rebels. The team sit fourth on the table having suffered just four losses throughout the 15 rounds of action in 2023.

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The potential of advancing to the playoffs with the advantage of a home quarter-final was on the line in Friday’s match. The team knew their likely opponents would be the Hurricanes, but they would have to win to ensure they would play the first of their postseason games in front of their own faithful fans at GIO Stadium in Canberra.

One man who understood the assignment and was determined to get his team on track after a tight first half was Wallabies fullback, Tom Wright.

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The speedster was hovering out wide on defence when he spotted the ball come loose after a flat pass from Carter Gordon went astray. The ball bounced in Wright’s direction and he swooped it to initiate the counter-attack.

Wright’s pace saw him make 30 meters with the ball in hand before throwing a wild offload infield for Corey Toole to retrieve. A swift succession of offloads saw half the Brumbies’ backline touch the ball before Len Ikitau was dragged to ground just ten meters away from the try-line.

Ikitau fittingly found the man who had sparked the attack initially in Tom Wright and the fullback beat on final defender before scoring with a dive in the corner.

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The try came just five minutes into the second half and set the tone for the following half hour. A halftime lead of 14-10 was extended to 33-17 by the time the full-time whistle blew.

The play wasn’t without its controversy though, a number of fans called out Wright’s offload as forward as Toole did catch it a good seven meters further upfield from where Wright released the ball. There was no inspection from the referees however and the try stood.

The loss sealed the Rebels’ fate, the Melbourne side are now sure to finish eleventh with just four wins to their name in a difficult 2023 season.

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Bull Shark 4 hours ago
Rassie Erasmus' Boks selection policy is becoming bizarre

To be fair, the only thing that drives engagement on this site is over the top critiques of Southern Hemisphere teams.


Or articles about people on podcasts criticizing southern hemisphere teams.


Articles regarding the Northern Hemisphere tend to be more positive than critical. I guess to also rile up kiwis and Saffers who seem to be the majority of followers in the comments section. There seems to be a whole department dedicated to Ireland’s world ranking news.


Despite being dialled into the Northern edition - I know sweet fokall about what’s going on in France.


And even less than fokall about what’s cutting in Japan - which has a fast growing, increasingly premium League competition emerging.


And let’s not talk about the pacific. Do they even play rugby Down there.


Oh and the Americas. I’ve read more articles about a young, stargazing Welshman’s foray into NFL than I have anything related to either the north and south continents of the Americas.


I will give credit that the women’s game is getting decent airtime. But for the rest and the above; it’s just pathetic coming from a World Rugby website.


Just consider the innovation emerging in Japan with the pedigree of coaches over there.


There’s so much good we could be reading.


Instead it’s unimaginative “critical for the sake of feigning controversial”. Which is lazy, because in order to pull that off all you need to be really good at is:


1. Being a doos;

2. Having an opinion.


No prior experience needed.


Which is not journalism. That’s like all or most of us in the comments section. People like Finn (who I believe is a RP contributor).


Anyway. Hopefully it will get better. The game is growing and the interest in the game is growing. Maybe it will attract more qualified journalists over time.

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