Brumbies storm home late to beat Blues after Caleb Clarke’s double, Stephen Perofeta’s sin-binning

Saturday, 28 February 2026

Charlie Cale scored well after the siren sounded as the Brumbies came back from nine points down with 10 minutes to play to beat the Blues 30-27 in Canberra on Saturday night.

All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke scored a double and Blues captain Dalton Papali’i marked his 100th outing for the team with what looked like being a match-sealing try in the 63rd minute, giving his side a 27-18 lead at GIO Stadium.

Then came a deliberate knock-down from first-five Stephen Perofeta as the Brumbies searched for a lifeline down the left in the 71st minute of the back-and-forth Super Rugby Pacific clash.

Luke Reimer scored almost immediately after the home team went up a man, but Tane Edemed’s missed conversion from the left touchline meant they would need another.

On the back of some smart kicking by Finlay Christie – and some strong kick chasing – the Blues ate up a big chunk of the clock in the final five minutes, but the Brumbies were able to win a penalty after tackling AJ Lam to set up a grandstand finish.

From a lineout just inside the Blues half, they worked the ball for 19 phases, picking up a penalty advantage and forcing the visitors to scramble to keep them at bay.

They ended up not needing the advantage when Cale grounded the ball on the line almost two minutes after the siren had sounded. A conversion from Ryan Lonergan put the icing on the cake.

Blues coach Vern Cotter said losing at the death was “simply disappointing”.

“I thought the boys put in a real gutsy effort. We lost a couple of players early, finished with the yellow card, and just didn't quite have that bit at the end to get over the line,” Cotter said.

“It was never going to be a game that you could get in front of, and they would go away.”

The Brumbies win came six days after they went to Christchurch and beat the Crusaders 50-24.

Coming after the Western Force beat Moana Pasifika and the Reds beat the Highlanders on Friday, it made for a Super Rugby Pacific weekend where all three of the Australian teams in action wound up winning (the Waratahs had the bye).

Clarke’s first try early in the first half was gifted to him, when Ollie Sapsford handed him the ball 40 metres out.

To call it an intercept would be overstating it, but it allowed the Blues to draw level at seven-all, after Declan Meredith won a foot race to get on the end of a kick from double centurion prop James Slipper of all people and open the scoring.

Clarke’s second came after Christie took a quick throw 25 metres out from the Blues’ line, released Cole Forbes down the right, then helped shift the ball out to the left flank to send his fellow All Black in, in a passage of play where substitute hooker Bradley Slater made a crucial pick-up to keep things going.

Cody Vai made surging run up the middle, brushing off a tackle, to set Papali’i up for a magic moment in his milestone, but he was a frustrated captain come the final whistle.

“Losing like that is always heartbreaking,” he said on the Stan Sport broadcast, before pointing out that his side had also conceded a late try to lose to the Chiefs in round one, before bouncing back to beat the Force in the first game of their Australian road trip last weekend.

“Last 10 minutes we really need to look at ourselves and how we can become better, because that’s what costing us.”

The Blues return home to host the Crusaders next Saturday, a team that will be flying high after a big win over the Chiefs in Hamilton in round three.

The Brumbies have won three from three and are five points clear at the top of the table as they prepare to host the Reds in round four.