03-13-2010, 10:16 AM
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#3 (permalink)
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Join Date: Nov 2009
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Brumbies v Sharks:
Quote:
The Brumbies continued their impressive start to the Super 14 season by edging out the Sharks 24-22 in an absorbing encounter in Canberra on Saturday.
England's Andy Goode enjoyed a perfect evening with the boot, landing five penalties as well as converting his half-back partner Ruan Pienaar's try just before the interval. However, Goode's flawless goal-kicking was not enough to prevent the Brumbies racking up their fourth win of the campaign, with Matt Giteau's 70th-minute penalty ultimately deciding the game in their favour after an earlier brace of tries from Ben Alexander either side of half time had put the hosts in control.
It was another difficult defeat to take for the Sharks, who were beaten 25-21 by the Waratahs last weekend. They had started well, too, with Goode kicking them into an early 6-0 lead. However, Giteau replied with two penalties of his own to level matters and the Brumbies moved ahead for the first time in the match just after the half hour when Alexander crashed over from close range after a spell of incessant forward pressure.
However, in a see-saw game, it was the Sharks who would go in ahead at the break. Just five minutes after Alexander's touchdown, Pienaar cruised over unchallenged after pouncing on a loose ball some ten metres from the Brumbies line. Goode converted and then nailed a penalty right on the siren to give the Sharks a 16-13 half-time lead.
The Brumbies wrested the initiative back from their visitors, though, shortly after the restart, with Alexander wriggling his way over the whitewash after he and his front row colleagues had decimated their Sharks counterparts in a five-metre scrum. However, Giteau failed to add the extras and that enabled Goode to put the Sharks in front with a penalty on 52 minutes.
Giteau responded in kind just before the hour but Goode posted an almost immediate riposte after Alexander had been pinged for a shoulder charge. It was advantage Sharks as the game moved into its third quarter. However, with just over ten minutes remaining Ryan Kankowski was rather harshly penalised for stepping out of the line too early to try to intercept a crossfield pass and Giteau landed the resulting strike on goal to ultimately win it for the Brumbies.
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