Roff the tormentor-in-chief
Cootamundra
February 10, 2001

Wallaby winger Joe Roff crossed for a hat-trick of tries, but the ACT Brumbies were lacking their usual flair in the 23-17 trial victory against the Waikato Chiefs in Cootamundra.

The Brumbies lost Wallaby flyhalf Stephen Larkham just prior to the game due to a hamstring strain. They also seemed to struggle to adjust to the new rules for the Super 12 season, including several penalties meted out by referee Wayne Erickson for decoy running.

Erickson imposed a whistle-fest on both sides, handing out 39 infringements and Brumbies coach Eddie Jones said he believed rugby was fast approaching a stage when play would grind to a halt with stoppages.

"It was a stop-start affair," Jones said. "It was dominated by the referee and that's more of the rugby we're going to see this year.

"I thought he was very strict on the tackle all the way through and it's quite evident that's the way the game is going to be played this year and therefore we're going to see a game that has over 100 stoppages."

The Chiefs made a slow start, but started to worry the Brumbies out wide with Waikato winger Bruce Reihana and Roger Randel causing plenty of problems with their pace.

Unfortunately for the Chiefs, they head home with Rhys Duggen sustaining a suspected broken arm.

ACT 23 (Joe Roff 3 tries; Stirling Mortlock 2 pens, 1 goal) bt

WAIKATO CHIEFS 17 (Roger Randel, Scott McLeod tries; Glen Jackson 2 goals, David Hill 1 pen) at Fisher Park, Cootamundra. Referee: Wayne Erickson.

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices