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Special moment Brumbies erase past disappointments
CANBERRA (Reuters) -- The ACT Brumbies were basking in glory after beating South Africa's Sharks 36-6 in Saturday's Super 12 final. Brumbies captain George Gregan said his team had erased the disappointment of losing the 1997 and 2000 finals by becoming the first Australian team to win the regional tournament. "There was just an attitude that no-one was going to take this one from us," said Gregan. "We believed in this moment and we finally achieved it. "It's a special moment, it's something to look back on at the end of a career because we all know how hard it is to win this competition." ACT coach Eddie Jones said his team drew on their experience of losing last year's final to go one better this year and did not panic when the Sharks held them to 6-6 at halftime. "We learned a hard lesson from last year," said Jones. "We learned that the way you win games in the round robin is not necessarily the way you win finals. "I'm just really happy for the players, they've worked hard for this. Whilst last year was very disappointing for us, we've helped make up for it this season. "We knew they'd come out pretty hard in the first half, that's been their pattern all year, so we were pretty happy to go the break at 6-6. "We thought they'd tire in the second half and we could take control." ACT seized control of the match when local hero fullback Joe Roff scored two tries within four minutes early in the second half in his final appearance for the Brumbies. Roff said: "It was a really tough game. It took us a long time to get on top of them. "It's great to finally do it. We've been working towards this for years." Sharks captain Mark Andrews said he was proud of his team's performance in reaching the final after finishing bottom of the standings last year but conceded the Brumbies were just too good. "We gave it our best shot and we've got nothing to be ashamed of," Andrews said. "We're disappointed of course but we know we've come a long way in a year. "But you have to give full credit to the Brumbies, they are a damn fine side. "They would beat every team in the Six Nations except England."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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