It also silenced those who criticised the Brumbies for using their rolling maul as an attacking weapon, even though the ACT side has scored more tries than any of its Australian rivals.

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The players were undeterred by the external talk and while they hit top gear in attack, they also used the maul and scrum as the building block to overpowering the Sunwolves.

Henry Speight scored a first-half double while Joe Powell, Tom Banks and Pete Samu all got across the line in one of the side’s most complete performances of the year.

Perhaps the only thing more impressive than the Brumbies’ fast attack was the way they defended their own line and kept the visitors scoreless. It was the first time in four years the Brumbies had kept an opposition team to no points.

The Sunwolves started like a team on a mission and had the Brumbies scrambling when they crossed the line in the second minute of the match.

The start of the match wasn’t so smooth for the Brumbies. The Sunwolves were fast out of the blocks and looked certain to score the first try until Powell appeared out of nowhere and pushed Gerhard van den Heever out before he could get the ball down.

It would have been an embarrassing start. But it jolted the Brumbies to life after a sluggish start and Speight and Tevita Kuridrani combined to break the shackles with a 70-metre counter-attack.

Brumbies captain Christian Lealiifano said: ‘‘It was nice. I thought our turnover spark was outstanding. It was all from our set piece and forwards.

‘‘It was nice to get some points there but also keeping them to zero. We knew how unpredictable they were going to be.

‘‘It’s nice [to be at the top] but there are plenty of games to go. We’ve got to make sure we keep momentum and keep going.’’

Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson, meanwhile, despite lamenting another big missed opportunity on Sunday, maintains the competition is still up for grabs.

The only team to beat the defending champion Crusaders this campaign, all seven of the Waratahs’ losses have been by eight points or less – and four have been by three or less.

‘‘The margins for us this year have been very close,’’ Gibson said. ‘‘We’re a team that shows a lot of fight, a lot of character, but we just haven’t able to close out those really close games. Obviously there’s a standout team in the Crusaders and perhaps the Hurricanes.’’