11 Jun 2011

Brumbies beat Rebels to hand Melbourne wooden spoon

11:42 am on 11 June 2011

The ACT Brumbies ground out a 32-17 victory over the Melbourne Rebels after Wallabies hooker Stephen Moore set up one try and scored another in Matt Giteau's final home Super Rugby match before he joins Toulon.

The 28-year-old Giteau, who is moving to France after the World Cup, scored a try and kicked two conversions and a penalty for the home side, who have had an awful season.

But they followed up a 22-14 upset win over table-topping Queensland Reds last week with a controlled performance.

The Brumbies scored three tries in the first half through Christian Lealiifano, Tyrone Smith and Giteau, while Pat McCabe and Moore added second half tries for the home side.

Former England first five Danny Cipriani, who returned to the Rebels' side after being suspended for disciplinary reasons, scored their only points before the break with a penalty.

The dubious honour of claiming the Australian conference wooden spoon now goes to the Rebels in their inaugural season with just one round remaining before the playoffs.