July 14 (Reuters) – The ACT Brumbies lost their last regular
season Super Rugby match 30-16 to the Auckland Blues on Saturday
to give the Queensland Reds a chance of snatching the Australian
conference title.
The Brumbies needed just a single point in Canberra to secure
a position in the top three of the final standings and a first
trip to the playoffs since 2004 but were well-beaten by the
Blues.
The defending champion Reds can now retain the Australian
title with a bonus point victory over the New South Wales
Waratahs in Brisbane later on Saturday, which would leave the
Brumbies needing to rely on other results to make the playoffs.
The Blues were already well out of contention after a hugely
disappointing season but first half tries from Liaki Moli,
Daniel Braid and Hadleigh Parkes were enough to fire them to
their fourth victory of the year.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney, editing by Amlan
Chakraborty)
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