Brumbies' '15-man effort' keeps Aussie hopes alive; Reds' last Thorn ...

The ACT Brumbies denied a clean sweep from New Zealand teams with a thrilling Super Rugby Pacific quarter-final victory over Wellington Hurricanes in Canberra on Saturday.

It came after the Brad Thorn era ended on Saturday in a stirring last stand of underdog spirit when the Queensland Reds nearly pulled off an epic quarter-final upset.

Here’s how the two Super Rugby quarter-finals panned out.

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BRUMBIES THWART HURRICANES TO BOOK SEMI-FINAL BERTH

In an expected high-octane contest, pitting the two best try-scoring teams in the competition against each other, the Brumbies knocked out Hurricanes for the second straight season with a 37-33 triumph to join Canterbury Crusaders, Waikato Chiefs and Auckland Blues in the semi-finals.

The Brumbies will next face Chiefs in Hamilton after surviving a stirring second-half comeback from Hurricanes, who overcame a nine-point half-time deficit with 17 unanswered points.

Brumbies' Ollie Sapsford tackles Hurricanes' Brett Cameron. Picture: Saeed KhanSource: AFP

But tries to Luke Reimer and Tom Wright restored Brumbies’ lead and they held on with gallant defending in a frantic finish.

A desperate attempt by Hurricanes captain Ardie Savea in the dying moments was called a no-try with replays proving inconclusive.

“It was a 15-man effort. We wanted to bring energy and really execute our game plan,” said Reimer, with the Brumbies hoping to end a nine-year title drought for an Australian team in the competition.

REDS LAST STAND FOR THORN TO NO AVAIL

The Reds outscored the hottest attacking side in Super Rugby Pacific by three tries-to-two yet were left numb by a late 26-20 defeat in hostile Hamilton.

With 12 minutes to play, the 19-point underdogs led the Chiefs 20-19 and dared to dream of ending the 0-14 record of Australian sides in play-off games in New Zealand since 1996.

The performance was a worthy salute to Thorn’s six years in charge as coach because everything he stands for was cranked up in this tenacious fight.

“We gave it a red hot crack but we’re obviously gutted because we got into a position to win,” Reds captain Tate McDermott told Stan Sport.

“It’s Thorny’s last game. What he’s done to turn this club around is phenomenal. He’s a proud man and I hope we did a bit in this game to put a smile on his face.”

Added Thorn: “I’m proud of my men. You put a lot in over six years and it’s been an absolute honour to represent the state where I grew up.”

Huge defence was backed up by one of Suliasi Vunivalu’s most astute games since switching to rugby. He ran in a slick James O’Connor cutout pass early on but it was his fast-twitch pick-and-go try from the back of a ruck on the hour mark that sent Reds hopes soaring.

Fly half Tom Lynagh nailed the sideline conversion for the 20-19 lead but three early misfires proved the difference because Chiefs sharpshooter Damian McKenzie slotted seven-from-seven.

Reds coach Brad Thorn and Tom Lynagh. Picture: Hannah Peters/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

Thorn picked up players with losing in their blood in 2018 and gave them belief and standards built around his own DNA of strong defence, physicality and set piece strength.

He infused a care factor and sacked the red jersey for the maroon jersey full-time.

The 2021 Super Rugby AU title in front of more than 40,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium was his soaring success.

Just three wins from 29 starts against Kiwi sides will irk Thorn for years to come because Hamilton (2019), Christchurch (2020) and Dunedin (2023) were all matches that should have been won.

His final ledger reads 93 games as coach for 43 wins at a 46 per cent success rate. Farewell “Thorny”, one of the good ones.

The huge tackling had fans almost feeling the rattle of muscle-on-muscle themselves. Angus Blyth, Ryan Smith and Filipo Daugunu all produced terrific one-on-one tackles. Sadly, Daugunu’s was off to hospital with a fractured arm from his last big contact.

The Reds also stood up against the top-ranked Chiefs scrum to force penalties which was major credit to prop Sef Fa’agase and Co.

The biggest audition for more minutes for the Wallabies came from No.8 Harry Wilson. He relishes ripping into the Kiwis and did again with his running, knack near the tryline for a key try, his defence and his big attitude. He made 19 runs and 19 tackles, a whirlwind workrate.

Great credit to the Reds. They wore black armbands to honour the late Wayne Smith, the 52-year rugby writing icon who died suddenly this week.

Will Jordan of the Crusaders scores a try. Picture: Joe Allison/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

EARLIER, the brutally efficient Crusaders hammered the Fijian Drua 49-8 in Christchurch to set up an all-New Zealand semi-final against the Blues next week.

A Crusaders side chasing a seventh-successive title under Scott Robertson scored the first three of ots seven tries inside the opening 14 minutes.

“We started really well, we didn’t really give them a sniff until late in the first half,” Crusaders captain Scott Barrett said.

Hooker Codie Taylor crossed twice against an outclassed Drua, who were making history as the first Pacific Island-based side to contest a Super Rugby knockout match.

Crusaders, however, have potential injury concerns with All Blacks fly half Richie Mo’unga limping from the field in the closing stages with a leg complaint.

— AFP and NCA NewsWire