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Brumbies knock over French champions
01/08/2009 | 11:36 AM
The Brumbies claimed the first scalp of their French Tour after defeating reigning Top 14 champion USA Perpignan 17-0 at Stade Aime Giral on Friday night.
It was a comprehensive defensive performance for the visitors, who held the seven-time French premiers at bay throughout, and was even more impressive after being reduced to 14 men when scrumhalf Josh Valentine was sidelined with a yellow card for an early scuffle.
The Brumbies took a 10-0 lead into half-time thanks to a penalty goal from Christian Lealiifano and a try through Patrick Phibbs, who ran 70m to score under the posts following a quick turnover.
After resisting USA Perpignan in a frenetic opening to the second stanza, the Brumbies sealed the result 10 minutes from full-time when lock Ben Hand charged over.
Brumbies coach Tony Rea was proud of his side's ability to scramble in defence.
"The guys prepared well and had their heads on for what was a tough match," he said.
"We learned where we needed to be physical from the first two games and we were able to bully them on the ball and we were rewarded for it. We realised that we needed to win every collision for the 80 minutes, we did and we got the result."
"This tour has been a very demanding one. There's been a lot of travel, many sleepless nights and limited opportunities for training but tonight the team showed a lot of character. Tonight the tough times on the field moulded the team as a group rather than broke them."
The win came at a cost, however, with Alfi Mafi (suspected broken fibula) and Peter Kimlin (shoulder) unavailable for the final tour match against Toulon, while the fitness of captain Stephen Hoiles (knee) will be determined in the lead-in to Thursday's fixture.
http://canberra.iprime.com.au/index....mpions,9152011
One of the all time great Brumbies victories.... Well done boys and all without their flashy Wallabies... Pergignan even paraded their Top 14 trophy around the ground prior to kick off...