What ever cause it to brake did so because it twisted it. I see what you're saying about the girdle though. If the rod brake was a clean one than yes, I would agree that it most likely was the inital failure, but something put a lot of twisting force on it causing it to fail.
Fred (TEC Turbo's WORST nightmare) 95 300TT SGP Stage..Who knows..lol Dynoed 539.4 RWHP, 481.2 Lbs. Torque Pump Gas @ 17 Lbs. of Boost NO NOS!!