Mortlock inspires Brumbies
2006-04-29 14:22
Melbourne - Stirling Mortlock inspired
the Brumbies to an emphatic 36-0 victory over the Reds in Canberra on Saturday to remain on course for a place in
the final four of the Super 14 tournament.
His two first-half tries helped the Brumbies tighten their
grip on fourth place by extending their lead over the
fifth-placed Bulls, who entertain the Sharks later on Saturday,
to nine points.
Mortlock gave the hosts the lead with a penalty before
scrumhalf George Gregan created the opener for Gene Fairbanks
after 22 minutes and Mortlock converted for a 10-0 lead.
Gregan proved pivotal again on 29 minutes when his clever
inside pass found Mortlock, whose perfect angle saw him cross
unchallenged to make it 15-0 before he dusted himself off and
stroked over the conversion.
That try put him past the 800-point barrier in the
competition and there was more to come when a turnover due to a
handling error from Ben Tune gave the Brumbies possession again
and Mortlock vaulted over to make it 22-0 at the break.
It was Mortlock's ninth touchdown of the campaign moving him
to the top of the season's try-scorer standings.
A beautiful dummy from Matt Giteau fooled Chris Latham and
he crossed to make it 27-0 and Mark Gerrard added the extra two.
The Reds rarely looked capable of scoring and replacement
Patrick Phibbs rubbed salt into the wound by scoring his first
try in the competition to make it 34-0 in the final seconds
before Gerrard's boot completed the scoring.
- Reuters