Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham apologised to his supporters after his side’s Super Rugby season ended in humiliating fashion with a 66-12 defeat to the Hurricanes in Wellington on Friday.
The loss rewrote the record books for all the wrong reasons, becoming the Brumbies’ heaviest-ever defeat, the most points they have conceded to the Hurricanes and the biggest loss by an Australian side in a Super Rugby finals match.
Larkham, a former Wallabies first five-eighth who played more than 100 games for the Brumbies becoming head coach, described the performance as “embarrassing”.
The wet conditions appeared tailor-made for the Brumbies’ traditionally strong set-piece game, but their lineout malfunctioned, losing five throws, while the Hurricanes dominated the scrum and handled the rain and wind with ease.
The visitors were on the back foot from the outset, trailing 17-0 after 15 minutes before falling behind 38-7 by halftime.
The Brumbies claimed impressive regular-season wins over the Blues, Chiefs, Crusaders and Highlanders, but a shock 21-19 defeat to Moana Pasifika in the final round dropped them to sixth and condemned them to a sudden-death trip to Wellington against the competition’s form side.
Although the Hurricanes had lost their previous three playoff meetings with the Brumbies, there was no danger of history repeating itself.
The Hurricanes never eased up, with replacement winger Ngane Punivai scoring a second-half hat-trick as the hosts topped 60 points for the first time this season to rub further salt into the wound.
Coming up today, the Crusaders host the Blues at 4.35pm, while the Chifs play the Reds at 7.05pm.
The wet conditions appeared tailor-made for the Brumbies’ traditionally strong set-piece game, but their lineout malfunctioned, losing five throws, while the Hurricanes dominated the scrum and handled the rain and wind with ease.
The visitors were on the back foot from the outset, trailing 17-0 after 15 minutes before falling behind 38-7 by halftime.
The Brumbies claimed impressive regular-season wins over the Blues, Chiefs, Crusaders and Highlanders, but a shock 21-19 defeat to Moana Pasifika in the final round dropped them to sixth and condemned them to a sudden-death trip to Wellington against the competition’s form side.
Although the Hurricanes had lost their previous three playoff meetings with the Brumbies, there was no danger of history repeating itself.
The Hurricanes never eased up, with replacement winger Ngane Punivai scoring a second-half hat-trick as the hosts topped 60 points for the first time this season to rub further salt into the wound.
Coming up today, the Crusaders host the Blues at 4.35pm, while the Chiefs play the Reds at 7.05pm.
Source: stuff.co.nz
