Brumbies shut out Reds to retain Rod Macqueen Cup

The ACT Brumbies have recorded their first shut out victory since 2000, trouncing the Reds 36-0 to retain the Rod Macqueen Cup at Canberra Stadium tonight.

The Brumbies ran in five unanswered tries, including a first half double to captain Stirling Mortlock, to claim a bonus point and confirm their place in the competition's top four for another week.

The Brumbies went in at half-time with a commanding 22-0 lead through tries to Gene Fairbanks and two to Mortlock, before Matt Giteau and Patrick Phibbs added to the tally in the second half to wrap up a dominant victory.

The victory came at a small cost for the Brumbies, with Mortlock aggravating a shoulder injury and Gene Fairbanks suffering a medial ligament strain in his right knee.

Both were replaced at half-time, but neither injury is being treated as serious.

Mark Gerrard continued his impressive run of form in fron tof Australian selectors to claim Man of the Match honours.

17,041 supporters turned out on a cool night at Canberra Stadium to see the last of the Australian interstate clashes for the 2006 season.

Stirling Mortlock's double took him past 800 career points and catapulted him to equal first on the 2006 try-scoring list with nine for the season.

Full report to follow.