The ACT Brumbies put one solid hand on a home Super 12 semi-final after they slaughtered an innocent, tired and tame Auckland Blues side 35-7.

In a dreary match between the teams at the top and bottom of the table the four tries to one margin ensured a bonus point for the Brumbies.

The first try by Stephen Larkham came within two minutes after powerful attacks that overwhelmed Auckland. Although the game became somewhat flat for the next 20 minutes the re-cycling skills demonstrated by the Brumbies were impressive, leaving Auckland with a dearth of possession.

The second try came in the 29th minute through Andrew Walker, the leading try scorer in Super 12s this year, to ease the Brumbies into a 25-0 lead at halftime. Soon into the second half ageing Blues captain Robin Brooke was substituted and with just one more game to go his reign, marked by the decline of his side, is almost over.

The Brumbies play in the second half seemed to lose its flow somewhat, although this did not mean the hapless home-side had any more possession or territory. Of the latter they had none.
Just on the 60th minute the Blues got a try when veteran front-rower Craig Dowd was able to power over in a ruck. It was not so much reward for Auckland effort but a reflection of the way in which the Brumbies suddenly seemed careless and just a little too clever.

Auckland's Rua Tipoki was sinbinned for foul language to referee Carl Sponnenberg of South Africa but it made little difference to the flow of the game as the Brumbies went off the boil.
The game for the last 10 minutes was dull and formless, and given that this was professional rugby it seemed somewhat of a fraud for the scattered fans who had a quiet night.
The bonus point came on the stroke of fulltime when Owen Finegan was able to score under the posts.

The Waikato Chiefs, who meet the Brumbies next week, will take some comfort from the tired second half by the Australians.
Gregan admitted it was not a great game. "We probably didn't work thathard after the break. We will train smart, and we will need to work a bit more in the next week."