The ACT Brumbies have provided even more misery for the under-fire NSW Waratahs, beating them 40-16 to make it 12 straight wins against their biggest rivals.
Four Noah Lolesio penalty goals and three second-half tries saw the Brumbies hold off the at-times stubborn Waratahs on Saturday night and continue their Super Rugby Pacific streak, now winners of five straight games.
And in a further cruel blow for the struggling visitors to Canberra, Wallabies star Angus Bell suffered an injury to the same foot that saw him miss most of last season.
Brumbies No.8 Rob Valetini broke the game open and confirmed his reputation as Australia’s scariest ball-runner, finding the ball in space and ploughing through five-eighth Tane Edmed to score on 50 minutes and put his side 23-9 to the good.
It was the decisive play to break open what had been another NSW arm-wrestle, where errors at bad times cost them a real avenue into the game.
They finally broke through for their first try on 65 minutes, their rolling maul powering flanker Charlie Gamble over to cut the margin to just 10 points.
But the hosts had all the answers, flyer Corey Toole finding the ball in space just three minutes later and burning off his opposition to restore his side’s comfortable lead.
Charlie Cale capped a slick team move two minutes from time to seal his side a bonus point.
With their season arguably on the line, the Waratahs produced a stellar defensive first half to come within mere seconds of hitting the sheds trailing by just three points and having kept their opposition try-less.
Stifling the Brumbies’ trademarked rolling maul, NSW survived four lineouts in their own 22m zone in the first 20 minutes without conceding a single point, and twice held ACT players up over the line.
But in the final moments of the first half, a bustling carry from centre Tamati Tua off the back of a maul allowed halfback Harrison Goddard to cross for a 16-6 advantage.
ACT five-eighth Lolesio kicked three penalty goals while Edmed took two in a chess match of an opening term.
Bell will be sweating on the diagnosis of his foot injury, having repeatedly struggled with big toe ligament damage in the past two years.
The 28-cap, 125kg front-rower had only just returned to the side after a back injury.
