Waratahs crush Brumbies 29-17 to preserve unbeaten record against domestic rivals

The NSW Waratahs kept their unbeaten record against domestic rivals intact on Sunday, defeating the Brumbies 29-17 at Viking Park in Canberra, powered by a blistering first-half display in which Wallaroos lock Kaitlan Leaney crossed for two tries in her 25th appearance for the club.

The reigning Super W champions led 26-7 at the break, with Leaney’s second try arriving in added time after the Brumbies lost prop Martha Fua to a yellow card for collapsing a maul. Captain Emily Chancellor also touched down after running onto a Piper Duck pass, and hooker Brittany Merlo was driven over from the set piece to give NSW a commanding cushion.

“It was a tough one out there. The first half was really exciting for us and we played in the right areas and had some really exciting attacking rugby,” Leaney said. “In that second half a couple of discipline errors got us on the back foot and the Brumbies really came out firing and it was a battle out there.”

The Brumbies had opened their account in the 24th minute when former Queensland winger Ivania Wong finished after the ball was worked wide, but they were unable to live with NSW’s pace and physicality before the interval.

The second half was a far more competitive affair. Blindside flanker Lily Bone crossed four minutes after the restart to narrow the gap, and Spanish scrumhalf Anne Fernandez de Corres added another in the 75th minute to bring the Brumbies within 12 points. The visitors were ultimately restricted to a late penalty from Desiree Miller as their only other second-half contribution, leaving the Brumbies unable to complete the comeback.

Elsewhere in Super W action on Saturday, the Fijian Drua produced a remarkable second-half recovery to overrun the Western Force 29-24 at Churchill Park in Lautoka. The Force appeared to be cruising when Wallaroos scrumhalf Sammy Wood converted her own try in the 51st minute to establish a 29-10 lead, but the Drua scored three tries in 12 minutes — including a double from fly-half Varanisese Qoro — to turn the match on its head. The Force came agonisingly close to reclaiming the lead but were denied when the Drua shut down a five-metre line-out with less than two minutes remaining.