Super 14: Brumbies edge Crusaders 18-16

Mark Gerrard's last-minute try and Stirling Mortlock's conversion from a tight angle gave the ACT Brumbies an 18-16 win over the Canterbury Crusaders in Super 14 rugby Saturday.

Canterbury went ahead 16-11 when Ross Filipo crossed in the 56th minute, and defended that advantage manfully near their own line over the closing minutes. However, Gerrard broke through and the Brumbies snatched victory.

The Crusaders, playing without injured All Blacks Richie McCaw, Brad Thorn and Leon MacDonald, took an early lead with a penalty to flyhalf Colin Slade in the seventh minute, with the Brumbies equalizing 10 minutes later with a Gerrard penalty.

McCaw, out with a concussion, Thorn, who has a heel injury, and MacDonald (shoulder), have a combined 146 tests caps for New Zealand.

Winger Casey Laulala scored the Crusaders' first try when he intercepted an attempted behind-the-back pass from Brumbies' flanker George Smith and ran nearly the length of the field to score.

The Brumbies came back with their first try when Christian Lealiifano crossed in the 34th minute after some good work from Smith, who broke through the Crusaders' midfield. Stephen Brett's penalty one minute before halftime put the visitors up 11-8 at the interval.

Mortlock leveled the score just before Filipo's try.

The Brumbies have a 2-0 record after two rounds while the Crusaders are 1-1.

ACT coach Andy Friend complimented the opposition.

"Their defense was superb, their line speed was phenomenal, their physicality was great and that forced us into a lot of errors," Friend said. "Ideally we'd prefer to not have to wait until the last minute to win the game.

"We haven't experienced anything like that in preseason or at training, you can't replicate that sort of stuff but we'll be better for having experienced that tonight."

Mortlock didn't want to take sole credit for the win.

"A huge part of what the guys have done in the offseason was all about the little things, character, and it's shown in both performances so far this season," Mortlock said. "It's a solid foundation ... but we all know there's a lot of things we need to improve on."

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Scores:

ACT 18 (Christian Lealiifano, Mark Gerrard tries; Stirling Mortlock, Gerrard penalties, Mortlock conversion), Canterbury 16 (Casey Laulala, Ross Filipo tries; Colin Slade, Stephen Brett penalties). HT, 8-11.