The upshot for the Brumbies this weekend in Hamilton is that they don’t just need to be better than the Chiefs,they need to be about 10 points better and hope that even that buffer is enough to get them across the line.
But,there is a ray of hope for the Brumbies. There have been two visiting teams who have won semi-finals in the past decade. We’ve already mentioned the Highlanders in Sydney,so guess the other one. It was the Brumbiesagainst the Bulls in Pretoria in 2013.
That was a monumental effort and if you believe that a lot of rugby knowledge is institutional,passed down from one generation of players and coaches to the next,that victory probably has more significance than the Brumbies’ win in Hamilton last year.
Nic White was part of the Wallabies squad a decade ago.Credit:Getty
Winning organisations tend to be winning organisations because they are adept at passing down the lessons from the previous campaigns,especially when you get to the high-pressure parts of the competition.
Is it any coincidence that the Crusaders account for two of the three grand finals that have been won by away teams in the past decade? No. Theybeat the Lions in Johannesburg in 2017,andtook the Blues to the cleaners last year when it was time to win at Eden Park.
We’re seeing a variation of that theme with the Fijian Drua at the moment. Formidable at home,but at times pretty poor on the road with exactly the same set of players.
I give the Brumbies a chance. Not because of any particular weaknesses in the Chiefs’ armoury (all teams have flaws) but out of recognition and respect for the Brumbies’ history. That chance is still relatively slim given the intrinsic advantages held by the home side,but it’s a better chance than most teams would enjoy.
It’s fair to say Queensland’s Seru Uru may not have been pinged last week if the match had been a Reds home game.Credit:Getty
The key,clearly,is pressure — and whether the Brumbies can exert some,be it scoreboard pressure,line speed pressure or set-piece pressure. The Chiefs players wouldn’t admit it,but they’ll be keenly aware that the All Blacks’ Rugby Championship squad is being read out on Sunday,with several of their number expected to feature prominently.
That brings an added layer of pressure,and the Brumbies have to do everything within their power to make the Chiefs feel that.
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The Brumbies’ back row look good — perhaps the selection of Pete Samu at No.7 can bring the best out of him,and with Tom Hooper at No.6 it’s a physical unit — making for a real ‘fight fire with fire’ philosophy in that area of the game.
But,what the Brumbies can really lean on is that they are not in uncharted territory. Nic White,Jesse Mogg and scrum coach Dan Palmer were in that 2013 squad. They’ve done this before.
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