ACT Brumbies fly-half Noah Lolesio was “lost for words” after a heartbreaking 33-31 defeat to the Crusaders on Friday night – a result that saw the Canberra side let a top-two spot on the Super Rugby Pacific standings slip away in the dying minutes.
It has been 21 years since the Brumbies last finished a full Super Rugby campaign in either first or second place, and they went on to win the title that season. That slice of history was up for grabs against the Crusaders, and so was the benefit of home-field advantage.
The Chiefs have clinched the number one seed with a 41-24 win over the Highlanders earlier on Friday, with Tupou Vaa’i scoring a hat-trick at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium, which ruled out any chance of the Brumbies or Crusaders snatching top spot.
But there was still plenty to play for, with the winner of the clash at Canberra’s GIO Stadium set to host a qualifying final, and a semi-final if they’re victorious next week. As Brumbies fans braced the cold in the capital, they watched on as a finals-esque battle played out.
All Blacks hooker George Bell crashed over for the match-winner with less than four minutes left, but the Brumbies had a chance to steal it after retrieving the restart. Winger Corey Toole knocked the ball on out-wide with one minute left, sealing the result.
“Yeah, pretty disappointing. We’re really in that game,” Lolesio said on Stan Sport.
“We did really well to get back the lead.
“I’m lost for words at the moment… It’s pretty disappointing there.”
Feao Fotuaika opened the scoring for the Brumbies in the first minute, as Brumbies supporters let out a big cheer of optimism and support. But, the home side would only score one more try during the first term, when Len Ikitau raced away for a score in the 16th minute.
Instead, the opening 40 was largely controlled by the Crusaders, who took a 25-14 lead into the sheds at half-time. Christian Lio-Willie, Ethan Blackadder and Rivez Reihana had all scored a five-pointer each, before Sevu Reece added a drop goal just before the break.
Match Summary 
But the Brumbies clawed their way back, with Rhys Van Nek and Andy Muirhead doing damage on the scoreboard as the home side levelled the score with just over 20 minutes to play. With so much at stake, a thriller was on the cards in the capital.
“We didn’t even have to change anything. It was probably our execution and holding the ball, urgency off the ball as well. We spoke about that,” Lolesio reflected when asked about the improvement of the team during the second half.
“When we’re playing our best footy, we don’t really need to change anything.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow. We really wanted to win this game.
“We’re gonna have to get over it and work into whoever we’ve got next Saturday.”
The Brumbies took the lead after Lolesio successfully knocked over a penalty goal. Time was on their side as well, but the Crusaders gave it everything in the dying stages and were eventually rewarded after a set-piece move.
Bell gave the Crusaders the lead with only a few minutes left to play. While the Brumbies were able to reel in the kick-off, and they looked more than capable of scoring as well, it wasn’t to be for the home side.
Having finished the regular season in third place, the Brumbies will host either the Hurricanes or Queensland Reds in a qualifying final next week. But this match against the Crusaders was a nice entrée for the playoffs.
“We treated this game as like a final,” he added.
“We can’t control what the ref does, we can only control our backyard.
“There was definitely moments throughout the whole game that we could’ve done better, as a collective and me individually.
“Again, it’s disappointing but we’ll learn from it and be ready to go next week in our home quarter-final.”
