The Super Rugby Next Gen competition kicked off in Canberra on Sunday, with the ACT Brumbies side going down to the Queensland Reds, 45–31.
A rainy afternoon at the University of Canberra fields saw two teams laden with exciting young talent lock horns, but it was two Reds with family ties to the Brumbies who proved the difference in the end: flanker Tom Robinson, son of inaugural Brumbies captain Brett Robinson, and Treyvon Pritchard, brother of Brumbies centre Kadin, who bagged six tries between them.
The Brumbies opened the scoring in the third minute, with speedster Harvey McLean the man on the spot to finish off a slick backline move, slicing through after hands out the back opened the door. The conversion was successful: 7–0.
The young Brumbies had the wood on the visitors early, dominating possession and territory. That sustained pressure paid off in the eighth minute when Brumbies rake Ewald Kruger capitalised on a dominant maul to dive over next to the posts and, with the conversion from Chace Oates, put the home side ahead 14–0.
As if taking time to adjust to the unfamiliar wet weather, the Queenslanders answered back in the 12th minute. Initial strong maul defence halted the maroon drive, but mounting pressure proved too much, and prop Levi Slater emerged from a mound of bodies to grab his team’s first five-pointer of the afternoon. 14–7.
The game was set alight minutes later when the younger Pritchard scythed through a slipping Brumbies defence and raced 30 metres to dive over to the right of the posts, tying the match at 14–14.
A moment of brilliance from fly-half Chace Oates nearly created the try of the match. Another Brumbies sibling, Oates showed he has the pace and skill of his older brother Kye, leaping to field a kick before a juggle and a step sent him streaking down the right touchline. An ambitious dive to take advantage of the slip-and-slide surface was just not enough, as a covering Reds defence managed to force an errant boot into touch just short of the line.
The back-and-forth continued, with neither team able to break the deadlock heading into half-time, with scores all square.
The home team came out firing after the break, with Head Coach Robbie Abel’s men looking to hit straight up the middle. Solid forward play set the platform for the Brumbies backline to shine, with Oates sending a long rainbow pass to put a flying Koko Salim over in the right corner and put the Brumbies ahead by five. 19–14.
The Brumbies sent in the bomb squad with 30 to play, unleashing five finishers — but it was the Reds who scored next. Multiple mauls on the ACT five-metre line eventually paid dividends, allowing Robinson to bring his team level, before a sideline conversion from Finn Mackay put the Reds up by two. 21–19.
The Reds returned to their maul in the 59th minute, and another drive gave Robinson the platform to bag his second for the day. 26–19.
The Brumbies looked threatening before turnover ball gave the Reds the opening to shift the ball wide and allow Pritchard to go 40 metres to score his second and stretch the margin. A missed conversion kept the ACT side in striking distance with 16 minutes to play.
Right on cue, the baby Brumbies went straight off the kick-off to regain possession and jump out to the left. A nice interchange of passing put replacement backrower Jarvis Orr stretching for the corner. 33–24 with 14 to go.
The Reds went right back to their old faithful, employing their maul to good effect. Once again, Robinson emerged with the ball to bag his hat-trick and put his side ahead by 14. 38–24.
The Brumbies had the Reds under siege in the final 10 minutes, launching volley after volley of attacking arrows. Once again, the men from up north turned defence into attack, and after some mistakes by the home side in scramble defence, Treyvon Pritchard high-stepped his way over in the corner to secure his hat-trick and put the result out of reach with two minutes to play.
The baby Brumbies got one final consolation on the buzzer when another nice long ball from Oates put replacement winger Blake Miller over in the corner.
The Next Gen Brumbies next play against the Western Force in Perth on Saturday 14 February.
ACT BRUMBIES NEXT GEN 31
Tries: Harvey McLean, Ewald Kruger, Koko Salim, Jarvis Orr, Blake Miler
Conversons: Chase Oates 3
QUEENSLAND REDS NEXT GEN 47
Tries: Tom Robinson 3, Treyvon Pritchard 3, Levi Slater,
Conversions: Sam McGahan 6
