The Brumbies withstood a fierce Queensland attacking onslaught for a gutsy 19-19 draw in a fiery and brutal Super Rugby showdown on Saturday night.
Queensland scored three tries to one at Suncorp Stadium but the Brumbies reclaimed the Rod Macqueen Cup as Christian Lealiifano scored all their points in an impressive audition for a Wallabies jersey.
Brumbies fullback Jesse Mogg was also a star, laying the foundations for Lealiifano’s first-half try and also saving three Reds five-pointers with last-ditch tackles in the corner.
But it was the Brumbies nigh-on-impregnable defence which was the major factor in the result, holding out Queensland for sustained periods and twice when they were down to 14 men.
Leading 19-12, the visitors spent most of the closing stages on their own line as they kept coming up with desperate tackles but also infringing at the ruck and off-side.
In the end, Will Genia put Liam Gill over and Quade Cooper converted to tie the scores to set up a tense final four minutes which finished in anti-climax.
While Brumbies skipper Ben Mowen praised his side’s desperation, Reds captain James Horwill was disappointed with their below-par finishing.
“We shot ourselves in the foot,” Horwill said. “We didn’t execute well to get over the line.”
The draw means the pace-setting Brumbies move to 35 points at the top of the table, with the Reds remaining second on the standings on 33.
The much-hyped No.7 battle between George Smith and Gill also finished in a stalemate as both were among the best players for their teams.
There was little between the teams in the first half as the Reds created more chances but the Brumbies were better at reaping points from their opportunities to lead 13-7 at the break.
Twice, electric winger Rod Davies went inches from scoring following Digby Ioane busts while Queensland also failed to score a point despite immense pressure when Lealiifano was sin-binned for a professional foul.
The Reds attempted to play with width and adventure from the outset, and looked dangerous, but it was the Brumbies who jumped to a 6-0 lead after 10 minutes through two penalties to Lealiifano.
It a tale of the set pieces, the Brumbies scrum was largely dominant while the Queensland lineout ruled the roost and they scored their opening try through Jake Schatz at the back of a 11-man driving maul.
The Brumbies regained the lead when Lealiifano crossed in the 24th minute but he was yellow-carded for a professional foul on his own line soon after.
Cooper also impressed again and threw a perfect cut-out pass for Davies to finally score after the break for a 13-12 scoreline.
When Matt Toomua was replaced with a neck injury early in the second half, Lealiifano slipped into five-eighth and continued his goalkicking strike rate, booting two more penalties to finish with five from five.