Instead of basking in the glory of last week’s demolition of the Tahs, our Brumbies will be basking in the Perth sunshine as they take on the Western Force in a Round 13 blockbuster this Saturday night.
The Round 11 loss proved to be nothing more than a bump in the road, as normal order was restored in a near-flawless performance against the Waratahs at GIO Stadium. The bonus point win left the Canberrans three points outside of the top two with only three matches to play.
The first of that trio of matches comes against the Western Australians, who have fallen down the Super Rugby table of late. Their two-week trip to New Zealand proved to be anything but a holiday. The Perth-based side walked away empty-handed following heavy defeats to the Chiefs and Blues.
Stephen Larkham’s men won’t read too much into that, however, having been on the receiving end of a Force upset earlier in the season. One of the hardest teams to read in the competition, the Force have proven their ability to match it with anyone, including a 17-17 draw with the Hurricanes only three weeks ago.
For the Brumbies, it is full steam ahead as they look to secure a home final for a seventh consecutive season. Crucially for them, several of their star-players are starting to hit top form, as evidenced last week.
Corey Toole was a deserved man of the match, making an impact in both attack and defence. Meanwhile, perhaps the most exciting player in Super Rugby seemed to kick into top gear, with Tom Wright proving monumental in orchestrating several Brumbies tries.
The visitors will be aware the Force are a different proposition at home, having only tasted defeat once on home turf. Admittedly, that loss came against a fellow Australian team, the Reds, back in round 3.
Brumbies fans will be hoping for a replica of Saturday’s performance against the Waratahs, knowing we need to be firing on all cylinders to keep our top two dreams alive.
Tune in via Stan Sport or 9Gem and catch all the action with a 7:35pm kick-off.
