Brumbies v Moana Pasifika: Dramatic victory secured for 14-man Moana Pasifika
Moana Pasifika players celebrate after winning their Super Rugby Pacific Round 16 match. Photo / Photosport
Moana Pasifika secured a dramatic victory against the Brumbies in what could be their last ever game.
The Brumbies took an early lead and looked like they would give their fans a positive end to the regular season and were up 14-0 inside 18 minutes.
However, Moana Pasifika continued to show great spirit despite being two tries down and became more confident after a yellow card to Brumbies prop James Slipper in the 18th minute.
From there, Moana Pasifika raced back into the contest, tying things up 14-14 going into the break but went in a man down because of a Faletoi Peni yellow card.
The Brumbies broke the second half deadlock with a try from Luke Reimer in the 55th minute which went unconverted.
Things went from bad to worse for Peni and Moana Pasifika when he was shown a red card in the 63rd minute, forcing the visitors to play the rest of the contest a man down.
The adversity seemed to bolster Moana Pasifika who looked very positive from then on and eventually took the lead with just over five minutes to go with a try from Melani Matavao which was converted by Patrick Pellegrini.
The Brumbies tried to pile the pressure on the visitors, but Moana Pasifika were able to absorb whatever was thrown at them and their 12-game losing streak was finally snapped, allowing the team to end their stint in Super Rugby on a high.