Larkham delight as Brumbies rule

BRUMBIES coach Stephen Larkham had a tear in his eye at full-time and compared his side's victory at the Blues on Friday to being as rare as playing the British & Irish Lions.

- BEN JAYCOCK

The Canberra franchise edged the Blues in a remarkable 21-20 victory at Eden Park for their first triumph in Auckland since 2013.

It's a significant boost for Joe Schmidt's Australia ahead of this summer's Lions series as Wallaby internationals Allan Alaalatoa and Tom Wright starred on Friday night.

Larkham said: "We're very happy. We had a tough start to the season with our travel, and to beat the Blues in Auckland at Eden Park is very rare, it's every 12 years; 2001, 2013, 2025. We knew we were in the fight at half-time and that the Blues were a little bit wounded going into the game. Beauden (Barrett) didn't come out in the second half and there were a few other changes. It just proved the right time for us, so we're delighted."

The Brumbies rallied from a 10-point deficit as scores by Declan Meredith and Allan Alaalatoa meant they were in touching distance at the death.

It was their scrum that proved the hero, turning the Blues inside out to force referee James Doleman no option but to award the penalty from right in front.

Ryan Lonergan made no mistake, allowing the visitors to close it out for an emotional win.