Happy hundred-up for Smith

by RivalsDM

Updated: March 21, 2008, 10:23 AM EST Comment

The Wallaby flank said that the Brumbies improved on their weak areas, and did not repeat their mistakes at the breakdown, a factor that enabled them to beat the Bloemfontein-based side.

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"The Cheetahs always give us a tough game, especially last year when they beat us convincingly, but tonight it was a big effort by our boys and a great result," said skipper Smith.

"There were a lot of issues at the breakdown last week.

"This week I think the boys applied themselves in a lot of areas. Next week we have a bye, so it's good to recover," he continued.

The Brumbies were forced into fielding yet another teenager, after fullback Mark Gerrard left the field with a hamstring complaint in the second half. The 18-year-old Matt Toomua came on in his place.

This left the Brumbies backline very short on experience, but Smith thought nothing of it.

"I guess it's been our story of the year," quipped Smith.

"We've had the young guys coming through. They have had the opportunity and they have taken it."

"We'll be getting a couple experienced players back [next week], but I think the boys have done a great job in the last six weeks," he concluded.

Brumbies coach Laurie Fisher said that claiming maximum points from the match was important.

"It was crucial for us to get four tries against a side that has defended well in most of their games this year," he said.

"They struggled a bit last week but they had their best side on the park today and came in with a good opportunity to win the game. So to win with a bonus point is good for us.

"It was a hard-fought tussle and we struggled for continuity in the first half.

"The breakdown's a battle in all games and we probably struggled in a few weeks but we were pleased to get some flow in the second half, score a couple of nice tries and put some pressure on them but there's a lot of work to do still."

Cheetahs skipper Rory Duncan also aired his views on the match, and regretted the defensive errors that robbed his side a chance of victory.

"We picked up the intensity [in the second half], but I think the discipline let us down a bit," said Duncan.

"We had a lot of penalties in that last twenty minutes and that's where the match is won.

"Three one-on-one missed tackles ended up in tries. You can't win games if you do that."

The lock forward revealed that there were certain positives that the Cheetahs could take out of the match, despite having only another losing bonus point to show for their efforts.

"We said we wanted to play a fifteen-man game this week, and I think we did a lot better than the last few weeks, and the wingers proved themselves tonight.

"Our set phase has always been good, and it's something we pride ourselves on.

"Tonight was no different," stated the Cheetahs captain.

The Cheetahs remain winless in this year's Super 14 competition, and will next travel to Sydney to face the Waratahs in Round Seven.

The Brumbies move up to sixth in the log standings, and have next weekend off, before another home fixture against the Chiefs.