BBC SPORT | RUGBY UNION | Brumbies secure Super 12 crown

ACT Brumbies 36-6 Coastal Sharks

Joe Roff scored a pair of tries and Andrew Walker kicked 21 points to guide the ACT Brumbies to a comprehensive victory over the Coastal Sharks in the Super 12 final.

They became the first non-New Zealand team to win the championship.

But the Brumbies did not have things all their own way in front of a large Canberra crowd.

Tough tackling Brumbies get to grips with Halstead
In fact, the Sharks had the better of a bruising first half, but failed to capitalise and the sides turned around level at 6-6.

After the break, the Brumbies stepped up a gear to outgun their South African rivals, with Roff leading the way.

The Australian test winger dived over in the right corner on 53 minutes, after hooker Jeremy Paul made a barging blindside run to create room on the right flank.

Then he scored again, touching down under the posts after splitting the Sharks defense.

Walker landed the conversion to give the Brumbies a 23-6 margin and they did not look back.

Super 12 winners

2001: Brumbies

2000: Crusaders

1999: Crusaders

1998: Crusaders

1997: Blues

1996: Blues

David Giffin sealed the win with a try that compiled the misery of Sharks' rookie fly-half Butch James.

Having missed three out of five conversion attempts, James watched his punt charged down by Giffin, who won a foot-race to the loose ball to score.

The Brumbies, losing finalists to Auckland in 1997 and to Canterbury last season, were playing without flanker Owen Finegan, who was suspended for five weeks after the semifinals for stomping on a rival's head.

"There was just an attitude that no-one was going to take this one from us," said ACT skipper Gregan, who became a first-time father last week.

We really tightened things up in the second half and paved the way

Eddie Jones, Brumbie coach

"We believed in this moment and we finally achieved it."

His coach Eddie Jones, who is expected to leave the Brumbies to become Wallaby coach later this year, said he had been concerned at halftime.

"But we really tightened things up in the second half and paved the way."


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