They were made to roll up their sleeves, but the ACT Brumbies have kept their top two hopes alive by holding on to beat the NSW Waratahs 29-21 in Sydney.
In monsoonal-like conditions, where the heavens opened in the second half, it took until replacement prop Sefo Kautai to cross in the 77th minute for Stephen Larkham’s men to seal the deal.
Before then the Waratahs produced a spirited second-half comeback as Joey Walton and Tane Edmed scored converted tries to cut the margin to a single point with six minutes remaining.
But the Brumbies managed to pin the Waratahs in their half after the kick restart and managed to claw their way to the line.
Harry Johnson-Holmes left the field early after a suspected Achilles injury during the Waratahs’ eight-point loss to the ACT Brumbies at Allianz Stadium on May 11, 2024 in Sydney. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The win saw the Brumbies climb back above the Chiefs into third spot on 39 points, where they trail with the Hurricanes (43) and Blues (45) with three rounds remaining.
The Waratahs meanwhile were denied a losing bonus point by Jack Debreczeni’s late conversion, which means they are stuck on 12 points – five points outside of the top eight.
In more bad news, the Waratahs have now lost every single contracted prop and hooker that started the year after Harry Johnson-Holmes suffered a suspected Achilles injury.
The Wallabies prop is the seventh Waratahs prop to suffer an injury, with Darren Coleman also losing his four contracted hookers for the rest of the season.