Brumbies battle past brave Sunwolves

Cape Town - The Brumbies held off a brave Sunwolves side in an entertaining Super Rugby clash at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday.

As it happened: Sunwolves v Brumbies

The Brumbies won 32-25 after trailing 19-15 at half-time.

The Brumbies scored five tries through replacement Lachlan McCaffrey, centres Kyle Godwin and Tevita Kuridrani, hooker Josh Mann-Rea and fullback Tom Banks. Flyhalf Christian Lealiifano added two conversions and a penalty.

The Sunwolves, looking vastly improved on last season under new coach Jamie Joseph as well as with a host of new faces in their squad, scored three tries through wing Hosea Saumaki (2) and centre Timothy Lafaele. Centre Ryoto Nakamura landed a conversion, while replacement Hayden Parker was also on target with a conversion and two penalties.

The Brumbies picked up four points for their victory and moved to second place in the Australian Conference, while the Sunwolves left with a single point for losing by seven or fewer points.

In next weekend's Round 3 action, the Brumbies travel to Brisbane to play the Reds (Friday, March 2 at 11:00 SA time), while the Sunwolves welcome the Rebels to their Singapore base (Saturday, March 3 at 11:00 SA time).

Teams:

Sunwolves

15 Jason Emery, 14 Lomano Lava Lemeki, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Hosea Saumaki, 10 Robbie Robinson, 9 Yutaka Nagare (captain), 8 Willie Britz, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 Kazuki Himeno, 5 Grant Hattingh, 4 Sam Wykes, 3 Jiwon Koo, 2 Ho Shota Horie, 1 Keita Inagaki

Substitutes: 16 Jaba Bregvadze, 17 Craig Millar, 18 Asaeli Ai Valu, 19 James Moore, 20 Edward Quirk, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Hayden Parker, 23 Sione Teaupa

Brumbies

15 Tom Banks, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 Chance Peni, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Joe Powell, 8 Isi Naisarani, 7 Tom Cusack, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Richie Arnold, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Josh Mann-Rea, 1 Ben Alexander

Substitutes: 16 Robbie Abel, 17 Faalelei Sione, 18 Leslie Leuluaialii-Makin, 19 Rory Arnold, 20 Lachlan McCaffrey, 21 Matt Lucas, 22 Wharenui Hawera, 23 Lausii Taliauli