The Brumbies remain on top of the Australian conference and undefeated against Australian sides in 2016 after a bonus point 43-24 victory over the Reds.
It was a slow start to the match with six handling errors inside the opening 20 minutes on a cold dewy night in Canberra.
The Reds dominated the Brumbies early and as they managed to open the scoring through the boot of Henry Taefu.
Just seven minutes later, a buildup of pressure from the Reds led to a Andrew Ready rolling maul try to extend the lead to 10-0.
The game struggled to find continuity in the opening 20 minutes with poor handling and niggling injuries stopping play. Brumbies debutant Ben Hyne only lasted six minutes in his first Super Rugby match before limping off with an ankle injury, while Reds flyhalf Jake McIntyre was struggling to get going after feeling the effects of a Rory Arnold tackle.
The Brumbies started to take control in the back end of the opening half, but they weren’t rewarded until the 36th minute when captain Stephen Moore dotted over off the back of a rolling maul.
It didn’t stop there for the Brumbies as Ben Alexander put his head down after the half time siren to give the Brumbies a five point lead at the break.
The Reds came out firing in the second half as they looked to have scored off the back of a Duncan Paia’aua break, but it was deemed no try after Eto Nabuli had his foot in touch during the passage of play.
Just six minutes later, Stephen Moore was able to cross for his second of the night to extend the lead to 12 points to the Brumbies, but the Reds kept persisting and taking chances as Paia'aua crossed for his first Super Rugby off after a quick penalty tap from Liam Gill just four minutes later.
Los Pumas scrumhalf came off the bench in the 55th minute and added plenty of spark to Brumbies attack, setting up Christan Lealiifano with a try and even darted over for one on his own in the 72nd minute.
On a positive note for the Reds, young prop Taniela Tupou better known as the Tongan Thor has an impressive debut off the bench, crossing for the final try of the night.
BRUMBIES 43
Tries: Moore 2, Alexander, Lealiifano, Cubelli,Taliauli Cons: Lealiifano 5 Pens: Lealiifano
REDS 24
Tries: Ready, Paia’aua, Tupou Cons: Taefu 3 Pens: Taefu
