Brumbies' Super Rugby winning run comes to a crashing halt against Crusaders

The Crusaders were a class above in a 37-26 win over the Brumbies in their Super Rugby Pacific clash in front of 8376 at Canberra Stadium on Friday night.

One can only wonder what kind of difference injured Brumbies stars Rob Valetini [hamstring] and Noah Lolesio [concussion] would have made, but that will matter little to coach Dan McKellar. Tom Hooper was "immense" and Rod Iona "did some really good things".

Valetini is unlikely to return before the finals while Lolesio has boxes to tick before he can return from a concussion to face the ladder-leading Auckland Blues next week.

There were glimpses of promise - the Brumbies matched the Crusaders with four tries apiece and late attacking raids sparked hopes of a stirring second half comeback.

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But this was arguably the Brumbies' toughest night of the year. They were plagued by uncharacteristic errors and made to pay for turning over far too much ball against a side that dominated the collision.

The Christchurch powerhouse's winning run over the Brumbies now stretches to 11 games in a streak dating back to 2009.

"Frustrating would be a fair emotion for us to use," McKellar said.

"We started really well but just turnovers at critical times, and by turning the ball over against New Zealand teams, that then puts you under stress defensively. We struggled to win the collision there in that first half in particular.

"Really proud of how we hung in there and didn't capitulate and gave ourselves a chance there at the end, but a frustrating night.

"It's a loss, it's only the second one we've had. It's disappointing. I thought we had some really good periods throughout the game and frustrating periods as well. We've got a longer turnaround next week so we'll bounce back."

The Brumbies' kicking game lacked potency and their attack was rarely on song for long enough to be a serious threat in the first half.

They broke the deadlock inside four minutes via inside centre Irae Simone but the hosts struggled to back it up. First Codie Taylor went over after Scott Barrett charged down an Iona kick deep inside the Brumbies' 22.

Things soon went from bad to worse for the Brumbies flyhalf, who coughed up a ball right into the arms of Sevu Reece before the Crusaders winger skipped over the line untouched.

Richie Mo'unga's boot put the Crusaders up 23-5 at the break, sapping the life out of the home crowd with the Brumbies praying for a miracle to turn things around.

The second half was a vast improvement. Second half tries to Simone, Folau Fainga'a and Tom Wright gave the Brumbies a faint hope. But so often points were followed by errors or refereeing decisions from Angus Gardner that didn't allow the hosts to capitalise on advantage.

"It'll be interesting to see the actions of [the Crusaders] in defence off the back of advantages. You're playing off advantage which is a free hit but I just thought there was a few cynical actions in there," McKellar said.

Some wondered if the occasion got to the Brumbies. Some said it was an off night. What's clear is next week's clash with the Blues looms as an enormous ask.

AT A GLANCE

Super Rugby Pacific round 13: CANTERBURY CRUSADERS 37 (Codie Taylor, Sevu Reece, Bryn Hall, WIll Jordan tries; Richie Mo'unga 4 conversions; Mo'unga 3 penalties) bt ACT BRUMBIES 26 (Irae Simone 2, Folau Fainga'a, Tom Wright tries; Ryan Lonergan 2, Nic White conversions) at Canberra Stadium. Crowd: 8376.

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