The ACT Brumbies put their Super 14 playoff hopes back on track with a 40-27 win over the hapless Cheetahs at Vodacom Park on Saturday.
The Brumbies return home to Canberra eighth in the standings, only five points out of the playoffs and with a game in hand.
But they paid a price in SA with defeats to the Lions and Sharks and seeing utility forward Shawn Mackay hospitalised last weekend and induced into a coma to undergo a spinal operation after being struck by a car during a night out in Durban.
The Brumbies finished their tour blowing out the Cheetahs with three converted tries in the 16 minutes after halftime, zooming from 13-13 to 34-13 up.
”That was very pleasing and we definitely needed that,” coach Andy Friend said. ”We needed that as a team for our season, and we needed that for the players and management after a pretty rough week.”
The Brumbies were 10-0 ahead after flyhalf Christian Lealiifano stepped between opposite Jacques-Louis Potgieter and Meyer Bosman to run in between the posts, but the Cheetahs hit back to draw level at 13-all by halftime after a try from winger Jongi Nokwe.
However, fullback Mark Gerrard chipped and dribbled in a counterattack, and replacement Peter Kimlin and scrumhalf Josh Holmes exposed poor defense to all score for the Brumbies after the interval.
The referee failed to spot a knock-on in the buildup to Gerrard’s try and it proved to be a turning point.
Brumbies captain Stirling Mortlock was 6-for-6 at goalkicks.
Winger Danwel Demas and forward Wayne van Heerden scored late tries for the Cheetahs, who were bolstered by the second-half injection of Springboks flanker Juan Smith but they couldn’t retain tackle ball.
The Cheetahs remained winless through seven games, and have five more at home to end their drought. – Sapa-AP