Wallabies centre stars again as Brumbies edge out Waratahs in wet weather battle
Len-Ikitau-and-Noah-Lolesio-celebrate-for-the-Brumbies
Wallabies centre Len Ikitau scored for the second round in a row as the Brumbies claimed a 29-21 win over the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday.
Ikitau’s try was one of four for the visitors with Wallaby hopeful Charlie Cale, Rob Valetini and Sefo Kautai also scoring. Ryan Lonergan kicked two conversions and a penalty while Jack Debreczeni also added a conversion.
The hosts scored three tries through Jake Gordon, Joey Walton and Tane Edmed all of which were converted by different players with Gordon, Will Harrison and Edmed adding extras from the boot.
Click here for scorers
Red-hot number eight Cale was the first player to influence the scoreboard with a try after 11 minutes before Lonergan added the extras. The Brumbies‘ lead would not last long as Gordon crossed four minutes later and he was on hand to convert his own try.
The heavens opened after that making it difficult for either team to compound pressure in the tricky conditions. The next points only came in the 33rd minute as Lonergan kicked a penalty to give the Brumbies the lead at the break.
The Brumbies got the better start in the second period with Valetini going over just minutes after the break for a converted try. The big loose forward’s effort was followed by Ikitau’s try on 49 minutes.
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Momentum then swung in favour of the Waratahs who scored through Walton near the hour mark and added another in the final 10 minutes through Edmed. Both tries were converted and brought the scores tight.
That was until Kautai landed the killer blow for the visitors just two minutes from full-time, with Debreczeni kicking the conversion to end the game add the gloss for the Brumbies.
The teams
Waratahs: 15 Mark Nawaqanitawase, 14 Triston Reilly, 13 Joey Walton, 12 Lalakai Foketi, 11 Dylan Pietsch, 10 Will Harrison, 9 Jake Gordon (c), 8 Jed Holloway, 7 Charlie Gamble, 6 Lachlan Swinton, 5 Miles Amatosero, 4 Fergus Lee-Warner, 3 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 2 Jay Fonokalafi, 1 Hayden Thompson-Stringer
Replacements: 16 Ben Sugars, 17 Lewis Ponini, 18 Pone Fa’amausili, 19 Sinclair, 20 Hunter Ward, 21 Jack Grant, 22 Tane Edmed, 23 Izaia Perese
Brumbies: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Andy Muirhead, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Tamati Tua, 11 Ollie Sapsford, 10 Jack Debreczeni, 9 Ryan Lonergan, 8 Charlie Cale, 7 Rory Scott, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Nick Frost, 4 Darcy Swain, 3 Allan Alaalatoa (c), 2 Connal McInerney, 1 Harry Vella
Replacements: 16 Billy Pollard, 17 James Slipper, 18 Sosefo Kautai, 19 Cadeyrn Neville, 20 Luke Reimer, 21 Harrison Goddard, 22 Declan Meredith, 23 Ben O’Donnell