Charlie Cale scored after the siren to complete a dramatic 30-27 victory for the Brumbies over the Blues at GIO Stadium on Saturday night, extending the Canberra side’s unbeaten start to the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season and sending them clear at the top of the table.
Key moments
8 mins – TRY BRUMBIES: Declan Meredith opens the scoring with a stunning solo effort. The Blues claim the lineout and attack down the left, but Zarn Sullivan’s kick is blocked by Lachie Shaw. James Slipper bangs a kick downfield and Meredith chases it, toes it ahead, and dives on it to score. Ryan Lonergan converts. (Brumbies 7–0 Blues)
12 mins – TRY BLUES: Caleb Clarke levels with an intercept try. Shaw claims the lineout and the Brumbies look to spin it right, but Clarke shoots up out of the line and Ollie Sapsford’s pass lands straight into his hands. The winger streaks away to score under the posts. Stephen Perofeta converts. (Brumbies 7–7 Blues)
p>16 mins – PENALTY BRUMBIES: Ryan Lonergan slots a penalty from 10m out after the Blues are pinged at the breakdown for being off their feet. (Brumbies 10–7 Blues)
22 mins – TRY BRUMBIES: Billy Pollard extends the lead from the rolling maul. The hooker peels off early to the right and barges through Finlay Christie to score. Lonergan misses the conversion from wide. (Brumbies 15–7 Blues)
27 mins – PENALTY BLUES: Perofeta reduces the margin with a simple kick from 20m out after the Brumbies are penalised at the breakdown. (Brumbies 15–10 Blues)
30 mins – TRY BLUES: AJ Lam powers through to level the scores. Anton Segner claims at the back of the lineout, and after Christie box kicks high for Clarke to chase, the Blues regain. Segner carries over the 22 before Lam bursts straight through the middle and bundles over with multiple Brumbies on his back. Perofeta misses the conversion. (Brumbies 15–15 Blues)
Half-time: Brumbies 15–15 Blues. A breathless opening forty that swung like a pendulum. The Brumbies struck first through Meredith’s solo effort and built pressure through their maul, but Clarke’s intercept and Lam’s power have kept the Blues in touch. Rob Valetini and Charlie Cale have been immense in the carry for the hosts, but missed chances have left the door ajar.
43 mins – PENALTY BRUMBIES: Lonergan retakes the lead from 15m out after Sapsford wins the high ball to put the Brumbies inside the Blues 22, drawing the kickable penalty. (Brumbies 18–15 Blues)
51 mins – TRY BLUES: Caleb Clarke grabs his second with a stunning team try. Cole Forbes charges down the right-hand side and gets over halfway before finding James Mullan with an offload. The Blues shift it all the way left to Clarke, who dives over in the corner. Perofeta converts from the touchline. (Brumbies 18–22 Blues)
63 mins – TRY BLUES: Dalton Papali’i celebrates his 100th Blues appearance in style. Forbes kicks high and Sapsford claims the messy ball inside his own half. Meredith kicks across field for Sullivan to claim before Codemeru Vai bursts straight through the middle and charges into the 22. The ball goes through the hands and Papali’i finishes down the right edge. Perofeta misses the conversion. (Brumbies 18–27 Blues)
70 mins – YELLOW CARD BLUES: Stephen Perofeta is shown a yellow card for a deliberate knockdown at the maul. The Brumbies set up five metres out, and Liam Bowron looks for Lonergan down the short side, but Perofeta knocks it down intentionally.
72 mins – TRY BRUMBIES: Luke Reimer keeps hopes alive. The Brumbies opt to tap from the penalty, and Reimer carries low and hard to get over the line. Tane Edmed misses the conversion from wide. (Brumbies 23–27 Blues)
78 mins – TURNOVER BRUMBIES: One last chance. The Blues mess it up trying to seal the game, with Reimer causing the error at ruck time. The Brumbies will attack from halfway with just over a minute remaining.
80+2 mins – TRY BRUMBIES: CHARLIE CALE WINS IT! The Brumbies claim the lineout on halfway as Sapsford almost bursts through. Edmed has a run and is wrapped up 22m short. Valetini charges over the 22 as the hooter sounds. The Brumbies hammer away at the line through Valetini and Reimer. Lonergan fires left as Andy Muirhead darts through and offloads to Cale, who is stopped 3m away. They swing it right as Christie makes a great tackle. The Brumbies are stopped inches short before Cale scoops it up and dives over to win it! The TMO confirms Cale got the ball down before being pushed back. Lonergan converts. (Brumbies 30–27 Blues)
Full-time: Brumbies 30–27 Blues
What a finish in Canberra. Charlie Cale has written his name into Brumbies folklore with a dramatic last-gasp try that completed a stunning comeback victory over the Blues and sent GIO Stadium into delirium.
With the hooter long since sounded and the Brumbies trailing by four points, Cale picked up from the base of a ruck after more than 20 phases of relentless attacking rugby and somehow forced his way over the line. The TMO checked it, the crowd held its breath, and the try stood. Ryan Lonergan’s conversion was almost an afterthought as the Brumbies celebrated a victory that extends their unbeaten start to the 2026 season.
It was a match that had everything: brilliant individual tries, brutal collisions, a yellow card that changed the game, and a finish that will be replayed for years to come. The result lifts the Brumbies to the top of the Super Rugby Pacific table with three wins from three, while the Blues head home to Auckland having let a nine-point lead slip in the final ten minutes.
The hosts had started brightly, with Declan Meredith producing a moment of magic in the eighth minute. After Lachie Shaw blocked a Zarn Sullivan kick, veteran loosehead prop James Slipper – in his 201st Super Rugby appearance – showed remarkable footballing skills to punt the ball 60 metres downfield. Meredith gave chase, toed the ball ahead, and dived on it to open the scoring. It was a try that encapsulated the Brumbies’ aggressive, opportunistic approach.
“I don’t think he’s kicked a ball in his 200 games,” Brumbies captain Ryan Lonergan said of Slipper’s moment. “I could not be more happy for him. I ran past him and said, ‘Yes Slippy’.”
But the Blues hit back through Caleb Clarke, who would prove a constant menace throughout the evening. The powerful winger read a Brumbies backline play perfectly, shooting up out of the line as Sapsford’s pass landed straight into his hands. Clarke needed no second invitation, streaking 60 metres to score under the posts and level the scores. The former All Blacks winger was electric whenever he touched the ball, finishing with two tries and four line breaks in a performance that deserved to be on the winning side.
Billy Pollard extended the Brumbies’ lead with a trademark maul try in the 22nd minute, the hooker peeling off the back early and barging through Christie’s tackle from close range to push the score to 15-7.
AJ Lam responded in devastating fashion for the Blues, showing his immense power to bundle over with multiple defenders on his back after Anton Segner had secured lineout ball. The centre shrugged off a flurry of tacklers to muscle his way over, and the sides went to the break locked at 15-15 after a breathless opening forty minutes.
The second half began with the momentum swinging decisively towards Auckland. Clarke grabbed his second try six minutes after the restart, finishing a sweeping counter-attack that started with Cole Forbes charging down the right touchline after the Brumbies had coughed up possession. Forbes found James Mullan with an offload, and the Blues worked the ball all the way left for Clarke to dive over in the corner. Perofeta’s touchline conversion gave the visitors a 22-18 lead.
The emotional stakes were raised further when Dalton Papali’i, celebrating his 100th appearance in the blue jersey, finished a slick right-edge movement to score in the corner. Replacement winger Codemeru Vai had split the Brumbies defence with a powerful midfield burst, charging into the 22, and the ball went through the hands for Papali’i to touch down. At 27-18 with seventeen minutes remaining, the Blues looked in control and the centurion’s milestone appeared destined for a winning finish.
But the Brumbies, who had won their opening two matches by a combined margin of 82 points, refused to accept defeat. Having been tested for the first time this season after leading comfortably in their previous outings, Stephen Larkham’s side showed remarkable mental resolve. The turning point came when Perofeta was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knockdown at the maul, leaving the Blues a man short for the crucial closing stages. It was an ill-disciplined act that would prove decisive.
Luke Reimer capitalised immediately, burrowing over from close range after a quick tap penalty to cut the deficit to four points. Tane Edmed missed the conversion from wide, leaving the Brumbies needing a converted try with the clock winding down. The Blues attempted to close out the match through Christie’s box kicking and clever territory management, but the visitors struggled to retain possession under intense pressure. A crucial breakdown turnover from Reimer handed the home side one final shot as the hooter sounded.
What followed was extraordinary. The Brumbies claimed the lineout on halfway and began their assault. Rob Valetini, who had been immense all evening, charged over the 22 as the siren sounded. Phase after phase, they inched forward. Valetini was stopped metres short. Reimer was held up. Muirhead darted through and offloaded to Cale, who was hauled down agonisingly close. But the Brumbies recycled again, and this time Cale scooped up the ball and launched himself over amid a sea of bodies.
The TMO confirmed the grounding, Lonergan added the conversion, and GIO Stadium erupted. The 8,086 fans in attendance had witnessed one of the great Brumbies comebacks.
“That was intense. It was a good spectacle for the crowd. It was a back and forth for most of the game,” Larkham said afterwards. “The first two rounds we haven’t had that big a challenge where we were behind on the score. It’s a good feeling. It was a great atmosphere and the people certainly got their money’s worth.
“That was a really good test of our mental resolve. When you come out of a game like that you can build a lot of belief.”
It was the Brumbies’ third consecutive win of the season, ending the Blues’ seven-year winning streak in Canberra, and their second dramatic late victory over the Auckland side in as many years, having won by a single point at Eden Park last season.
For the Blues, it was a bitter pill to swallow. Clarke had been magnificent, Papali’i had marked his milestone in style, and they had led by nine points with ten minutes remaining. But Perofeta’s yellow card proved decisive – the visitors unable to withstand the Brumbies’ relentless pressure with 14 men – and they will rue the handling errors that allowed the home side back into the contest. The Blues, who had been buoyed by a week training at the NSW Rugby headquarters in Sydney, must now regroup quickly ahead of a crucial home clash with the Crusaders.
From here, the Brumbies remain in Canberra, where they will host the Reds next weekend looking to protect their unbeaten start and build further momentum. Larkham acknowledged his side had plenty to work on, with 15 turnovers and 23 missed tackles evidence of a performance that was far from polished.
“The Reds will be a significantly different challenge,” Larkham said. “They have really good ball control and can shift the ball across the park. But the Blues, we knew they were going to be very power-focused through the middle.”
What’s next
The Brumbies host the Queensland Reds at GIO Stadium in Round 4, while the Blues welcome the Crusaders to Eden Park.
Teams
Brumbies: 15 Andy Muirhead, 14 Ollie Sapsford, 13 Kadin Pritchard, 12 David Feliuai, 11 Corey Toole, 10 Declan Meredith, 9 Ryan Lonergan (c), 8 Charlie Cale, 7 Rory Scott, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Cadeyrn Neville, 4 Lachie Shaw, 3 Rhys van Nek, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Liam Bowron, 17 Blake Schoupp, 18 Tevita Alatini, 19 Toby Macpherson, 20 Luke Reimer, 21 Klayton Thorn, 22 Tane Edmed, 23 Hudson Creighton.
Blues: 15 Zarn Sullivan, 14 Cole Forbes, 13 AJ Lam, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Stephen Perofeta, 9 Finlay Christie, 8 Hoskins Sotutu, 7 Dalton Papali’i (c), 6 Anton Segner, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Laghlan McWhannell, 3 Marcel Renata, 2 Kurt Eklund, 1 Ofa Tu’ungafasi.
Replacements: 16 James Mullan, 17 Mason Tupaea, 18 Sam Matenga, 19 Josh Beehre, 20 Torian Barnes, 21 Taufa Funaki, 22 Xavi Taele, 23 Codemeru Vai.
Match details
Brumbies 30 (Tries: Declan Meredith, Billy Pollard, Luke Reimer, Charlie Cale; Conversions: Ryan Lonergan 2/3, Tane Edmed 0/1; Penalties: Ryan Lonergan 2/2)
Blues 27 (Tries: Caleb Clarke 2, AJ Lam, Dalton Papali’i; Conversions: Stephen Perofeta 2/4; Penalties: Stephen Perofeta 1/1)
Half-time: 15–15
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
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