Skipper Stirling Mortlock scored two tries and created another Friday as the ACT Brumbies thrashed the Cats 68-28 and moved atop the standings in the Super 12 rugby union competition.
The Brumbies opened the southern hemisphere’s premier provincial tournament last week with an upset over defending champion Auckland and followed up with a comprehensive win against the Johannesburg-based Cats.
Mark Gerrard and rookie lock Mark Chisholm scored two tries apiece and Joe Roff landed nine conversions for an 18-point haul.
The Brumbies scored six tries in the first half and led 40-14 at the interval, increasing the margin to 40 points with more tries via Matt Giteau and Mark Gerrard before the South Africans rallied with two tries in four minutes.
Conrad Jantjes and Pietie Ferreira crossed for the Cats’ third and fourth tries in the 62nd and 65th minutes to reduce the Brumbies’ lead to 54-28 and secure a bonus point.
But the Brumbies rallied with two tries in the last 10 minutes.
The Cats opened the scoring when Wikus van Heerden swooped on Bill Young error in the second minute, before the Brumbies replied with four tries in a 14-minute burst. — Sapa-AP