The Brumbies made a statement in the final Super Rugby match for a number of weeks.
What are we talking about after their 47-14 win over the Waratahs?
1. That’s a wrap...for now
With full-time blown on the Waratahs-Brumbies match on Sunday, Super Rugby is over as we know it for 2020.
Teams will head into an indefinite break after the competition was suspended for the “foreseeable future”.
Teams will all have different plans going into the coming weeks but the thing they all have in common is not really knowing what is to come.
If the tournament does resume down the track, this upcoming period will be just as pivotal for both the teams who ran out at Canberra Stadium today.
With a 5-1 record after their opening six matches, the Brumbies' challenge is to ensure that they maintain that momentum in readiness for the potential resumption of Super Rugby.
They have had patchy seasons in the past and having to effectively restart in many ways will be revealing.
For the Waratahs, the break will prove a challenge and a blessing in an entirely different way to the Brumbies.
NSW have had a dismal start to the year and are starting to look like a team on repeat every week.
If they can use the period of suspension well, they could breathe some life into their 2020 campaign.
2. Injuries sour Sunday derby
Both the Brumbies and Waratahs will be sweating on injuries to key players after that match.
Brumbies skipper Allan Alaalatoa looks to have broken his arm and key NSW backs Kurtley Beale and Karmichael Hunt both exited the game early.
Beale limped off with a hamstring while Hunt appeared to have hurt his knee.
hile they might have time to recover with the competition break, these are headaches that the teams won’t want.
Alaalatoa’s absence in particular would be a concern for the BRumbies and Wallabies, with the ACT skipper the form tighthead in Australia and showing himself to be a very promising leader as well.
3. Lolesio and Harrison hard to split
Sunday’s derby was billed as somewhat of a duel of Australia’s emerging flyhalves and both Noah Lolesio and Will Harrison passed with flying colours.
The pair, who teamed up for the Junior Wallabies in last year’s World Rugby U20s Championships, have been two of the positive stories of this season, stepping into Super Rugby.
While Lolesio will go home with the bragging rights from this one, Australian fans can go into an uncertain few weeks feeling optimistic about the next generation of playmakers.
4. Waratahs’ ill-discipline costs them again
The Waratahs were on the wrong end of another mounting penalty count on Sunday afternoon.
They were punished for it by a Brumbies side that loves to look to the corner and pounce on opposition mistakes.
At one stage, the penalty count was 11-1 against the Waratahs and a yellow card to Jack Dempsey compounded that issue, leaving them a man down as the Brumbies began to really take control of the game.
Waratahs coach Rob Penney admitted after the game that while one or two infringements might have been contentious, the trend of a growing tally against NSW was not something they wanted to continue.
5. Banks' stocks continue to rise
Tom Banks seems to get better every week and he again played a critical role in the Brumbies’ win on Sunday afternoon.
Banks iced the game with a last-minute try, after setting up an early try for Solomone Kata but it’s not just his running game that is so valuable for the ACT side.
Banks’ kicking consistently puts his team in the right parts of the field and helps open up the chance to build attack.
The Brumbies fullback completely shaded Kurtley Beale, even before Beale was forced out of the game, and has not put a foot wrong this year when it comes to pushing his Test case.
