The battle for a spot in the final of the U16 and U19 National Championships continued as teams made a statement in round four.
The ACT Brumbies were the biggest movers, defeating the Rebels in both competitions as they round out their season on a high before next week's bye.
Meanwhile, the Western Force climbed into second place on the U16 ladder after surviving a thriller against the Reds, before the Queenslanders got their measure of revege in the U19s.
Rugby.com.au recaps all the action from round four
U16s
Flyhalf Sam Chapman has inspired the ACT Brumbies to their first win in the U16s National Championships, guiding them to a 31-19 victory over the Melbourne Rebels.
The hosts started strong with a couple of promising attacking opportunities, however, it was the Brumbies that opened the scoring via prop Tipa Vaili, who ran a great line off Chapman’s crash ball to open the scoring.
The hosts hit back after a break from Jackson Jury, allowing Caleb Fanolua to dart over from close.
Alex Hardy provided the perfect answer for the Brumbies as they continued to build pressure.
Fanoula’s second got the Rebels back into the contest before the visitors responded via great play from Chapman to put Emmett Smith over.
Joseph Vela’s individual brilliance tied it up at the break before the Brumbies kicked into gear into the second half.
Joseph Lonergan proved too strong close to the line, powering through the defence to restore the lead.
He was followed over six minutes later by scrum-half Mitch Woolley, set up by a further break from his halves partner as they closed out the victory.
U19s
The Brumbies have completed their clean sweep over the Melbourne Rebels, shutting them out 34-0.
The scoreline fails to reflect the true nature of the game as a late blitz earned the visitors a bonus-point victory.
Both teams started the game playing end-to-end football as Baden Godfrey broke the line before an intercept from his opposite number Leafi Talataina put the Rebels on the attack.
The Rebels got the better of the first quarter but just couldn’t find their way over the goal-line after some inspired Brumbies defence, denying Joeli Niubalavu a certain try in the 25th minute.
A late penalty goal from Cullen Gray was the lone points of the first half before the Brumbies put the game out of question in second half.
They produced a dominant rolling maul just after the break, matching 20 metres before Xavier Degei spun and dived over the line for the first try of the game in the 48th minute.
Some quick thinking from Ben Keogh then put Austin Anderson over for his first try of the season.
Two late tries to Chris Mickelson and Liam Bowron in the final ten minutes sealed the win.
U16s
The Western Force have held on to defeat the Queensland Reds 17-15 as they charge into finals contention.
The hosts’ easy dominance was rewarded in the eighth minute as Ken Ah Hong dived over in the corner.
Ah Hong added his second just before the break to put the Force up 12-0 at the break as the Reds struggled to build consistent pressure.
Devan Button extended the lead after the break after some great interchange between the backline.
The Reds’ dominant scrum started to gain ascendancy as fullback Chase Oates put James Duggan over to kickstart their comeback.
This was followed by Prestyn Laine-Sietu crashing over minutes later to get the Reds back into the contest.
However, they struggled with their goal-kicking as they failed to convert both chances, allowing the Force to take a converted try lead into the final minutes.
With time running out, an errand line out throw with four minutes to go gave the visitors one final chance to strike, with the relenting pressure leading to Ngadang Kunai committing a professional foul and earning a yellow card.
As time expired, Tom Howard cruised over the line untouched to give Oates a chance to tie the match, however, his kick from 5 metres out from the sideline faded to the left as the Force held on.
U19s
The Queensland Reds have dominated the Western Force 36-7 to comment their spot in the top two.
A great charge from John Bryant set the tempo early inside the first ten minutes, running 50 metres as he was dragged down short, setting up Stuart Tualima to finish the expansive play to open the scoring.
Reds lock Lachlan Shaw was yellow carded shortly afterwards for a dangerous cleanout, however, it failed to stop their momentum as Taj Annan’s great offload found fullback Harry Grant.
Annan then set up his second try with Shaw still in the bin, finding flanker Nicholas Baker to extend the lead.
An error just before the break allowed the Reds to dive over via Willem Johnstone to take a 26-0 lead into the break.
Harry McLaughlin-Philips continued his great year, stepping through the defence to extend the advantage.
The day went from bad to worse for the Force as Thomas Crofts for a professional foul, opening the foot for Grant to score a second before somehow dropping the ball just before the line.
The Force defied the numbers disadvantage as Kauri Tipene-Grace dived over close to the posts.
In the end, the visitors were too strong as a show and go from Harrison Usher sealed the win.
