Rugby: Pocock hat-trick eases Brumbies to victory over Highlanders

David Pocock scored three tries in the first half, all from lineout drives. Photo / Getty Images

The Highlanders' three-match winning streak came to a brutal end at the hands of the Brumbies in Canberra last night.

An early sign of the home side's dominance was an extraordinary hat-trick from loose forward David Pocock, who scored all his tries in the first half and from lineout drives. The win extends the Brumbies' lead at the top of the Australian conference and allows them to overtake the Bulls into second on the table behind the Chiefs.

Jamie Joseph rested his big All Black trio of Aaron Smith, Ben Smith and Malakai Fekitoa, but the problems were coming from the pack, with the Highlanders completely dominated by the Brumbies in that area.

Joseph showed his displeasure early by replacing the front row, plus openside flanker James Lentjes for Dan Pryor, a decision which backfired when he ran out of reserve forwards in the second half, the Highlanders playing the last 10 minutes with 14 men.

The second-half response from the Highlanders was impressive but, after trailing 31-6 at the break, they had too much to do. They did manage to keep the Brumbies scoreless while scoring 12 points themselves through tries from Shaun Treeby and Pryor, but overcoming that deficit was always going to be too difficult without their All Black firepower.

It was an uncharacteristically mistake-ridden display from the Highlanders, who went into the match following victories over the Stormers, Crusaders and Blues. Wing Waisake Naholo, the competition's top try-scorer with seven, had been a key factor in their form, but he was very quiet in Canberra, the ball hardly going to him and when it did he was often on the back foot.

To compound matters for the Highlanders, lock Joe Wheeler went off with a knee strain which could put him in doubt for next weekend's home match against the Sharks.

The victory will be a welcome boost for the Brumbies, who have endured a horror past couple of weeks. They followed up their lacklustre loss to the Blues at Eden Park with a poor defeat at home to the Rebels, the first time the Melbourne-based team have won in Canberra.

Pocock was a force in the first half, as his three tries testify, but they could be concerned at the way they struggled to break down the Highlanders after the break, particularly following Wheeler's injury which left them a man down and vulnerable. Instead, it was the Highlanders who finished stronger.

Brumbies: 31 (David Pocock 3, Henry Speight tries; Christian Lealiifano 4 cons, pen)
Highlanders: 18 ( Shaun Treeby, Dan Pryor tries; Lima Sopoago con, 2 pens)
HT: 31-6