Godwin injury compounds Brumbies' woes

A potentially serious knee injury to Kyle Godwin has compounded a disastrous night of Super Rugby for the finals-bound ACT Brumbies.

The Queensland Reds snatched a 16-15 win over the Brumbies courtesy of a last-gasp Quade Cooper penalty in Friday’s clash at a dreary Suncorp Stadium.

It was just the sixth time the Reds have beaten the Brumbies in the competition’s history.

But aside from the mental blow as the Australian conference leaders approach the finals, the Brumbies have come away with four fresh injury concerns.

The biggest worry is centre Kyle Godwin, who came off in the second half with a knee issue, while winger Aidan Toua will also be sent for scans on his ankle.

“We’ve picked up a couple of bad ones there, which won’t be good for us,” coach Stephen Larkham said.

“KG doesn’t look good at this stage … a bit of damage to the knee there.

“He’s a pretty tough character and couldn’t play on.

“They had a bit of a look afterwards and thought maybe it’s not as good as they first thought.

“The fact (Toua) had to come off the field means there’s a little bit of damage there.

“It’s devastating for those boys to miss out if they are out for a significant amount of time.”

Flanker Chris Alcock also suffered a nasty gash to his thigh, one that prompted Brumbies officials on the sidelines to call for a doctor from the crowd to examine it.

He was later sent to hospital to have the cut cleaned up, but would appear to be in some doubt for next weekend’s clash with the Chiefs in Hamilton.

Wallabies lock Rory Arnold, meanwhile, was forced from the field with a shoulder “stinger” but Larkham was confident he would pull up well.

The Brumbies had just two players on their injury list before facing the Reds – long-term casualties Saia Fainga’a (foot) and Lausii Taliauli (knee) – while cancer survivor Christian Lealiifano was slated to play on Friday night but was a late withdrawal due to a hamstring strain.

Larkham said he was disappointed with how the Brumbies finished the match and their poor response to Queensland’s late surge.

The Brumbies led 15-6 midway through the first half but were helpless as the Reds piled on 10 unanswered points at the death.

“It was one of those games that just slipped away in the last five minutes,” Larkham said.

“They finished the game, we wanted to finish the game. They controlled it well.

“It’s something that we’ll learn from. The beauty is we get another opportunity to learn.”

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The Brumbies take on the Chiefs next weekend in their final regular season clash, before hosting a quarter-final in a fortnight.