Depleted Brumbies stun Chiefs as Sharks sink Rebels

The Brumbies, missing several players after an outbreak of mumps in their camp during the week, blew away Warren Gatland's men with a dominant first-half display in Hamilton.

The Australian conference leaders scored four tries to two, including a double for Pete Samu, to end a 13-match losing streak in New Zealand dating back to March 2014. 

Brumbies skipper Allan Alaalatoa praised his players for thwarting a late fightback from the home side.

"We knew the Chiefs were going to come out hard in the second half but I'm really proud of the boys in how we held them out," he said.

The Chiefs entered the match on top of the Super Rugby ladder but a string of uncharacteristic turnovers and poor discipline contributed to their first defeat of the season.

"After three good wins in a row we must have thought we'd just come out here and beat them, but they're a quality side," centre Anton Lienert-Brown said.

The Brumbies scored two tries in the opening 15 minutes, one when fullback Tom Banks shrugged off a tackle and the other when rugby league convert Solomone Kata powered past former All Black Aaron Cruden.

Samu added a third, dashing from the back of a scrum to make it 19-0 at half-time, then scored another two minutes after the re-start to make it 26-0. 

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Cruden finally got the Chiefs on the board in the 48th minute after their first meaningful attack of the match.

They gained momentum with a second to Lienert-Brown while Brumbies prop James Slipper was sin-binned, but the deficit was too much. 

- 'Good arm-wrestle' -

Earlier in Ballarat, Springboks winger Makazole Mapimpi bagged a double as the Sharks downed the Rebels.

The Durban-based team scored an early try and they never relinquished the lead. 

"There was a lot of running, good skills showcased from both teams," said Sharks skipper Andre Esterhuizen.

The Rebels, missing injured Wallabies stars Matt Toomua and Reece Hodge, were unable to build on their opening win of the season last week against the NSW Waratahs.

"Disappointing result, I thought it was a good arm-wrestle. We just didn't take a few opportunities," said Rebels captain Dane Haylett-Petty.

Mapimpi dotted down after five minutes when Sikumbuzo Notshe gathered a grubber kick and made a deft offload. 

But the Rebels bounced back when debutant Andrew Deegan's cleverly flicked pass sent Wallabies winger Marika Koroibete through for a converted try.

Esterhuizen restored the lead, using brute force to shrug off three tackles on his way to the line.

The Sharks delivered a dagger blow near half-time when Madosh Tambwe finished a sweeping counter-attack to give them a 22-10 lead at the break.

Kerron van Vuuren and Madosh Tambwe were both sin-binned early in the second stanza and the Rebels capitalised with a try to Isi Naisarani.

But Mapimpi got his second after a 19-phase attack, then Curwin Bosch finished off a 95-metre move to ensure victory before Anaru Rangi got a late consolation try for the Rebels.