1
Brumbies ready for Chiefs challenge after Super win
The biggest challenge in club rugby is awaiting the ACT Brumbies, and halfback Nic White says his side couldn’t be more keen for it.
ADVERTISEMENT
Fresh from holding on for a nail-biting 37-33 quarter-final win against the Hurricanes, the Brumbies will now head to New Zealand and battle the league-leading Chiefs in a semi-final to again try and keep their season alive.
They haven’t won either of their games in NZ this season, lost 31-21 to the Chiefs in Canberra a month ago and were knocked out across the ditch at the exact same stage last year, but White was already raring to go less than an hour after their Hurricanes win.
“There’s no better challenge, that’s the one you want,” he said.
“Coming into this game, watching the footy today and seeing who the potential lineups are gonna be, you’re hoping you get a chance to go over and test yourself.
“That’s what we want to be prepping for all year. We’ll enjoy this tonight and then we’re pretty keen for it.”
ACT coach Stephen Larkham confirmed captain Allan Alaalatoa was extremely unlikely to feature in the semi-final but said winger Corey Toole remained a chance, progressing well while rehabilitating an ankle knock from their last regular season game.
“All of that is too soon to say,” he said.
“(Toole) has tracked pretty well this week, but he’s on a rehab program and he’s got to tick everything off every day … we’ll wait and see how he turns up on Monday and Tuesday.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Allan’s calendar is a little bit more serious than Tooley’s … he’s improving every day, but I don’t think it’s going to be there for him.”
White reflected on their narrow win against the Hurricanes, were the Brumbies were outstanding early in racing to a 25-16 halftime lead, before having to go and win the game again after conceding 17 straight points early in the second term.
“It kind of had everything that game,” he said.
“The regular season was a chance for us to get a lot of tests and learn from them, and then when the test of final s footy has come we’re ready for it.
“The second half, we came out and had to adapt pretty quickly because things weren’t going right but we were composed … we know teams are gonna have their moments and we’re just gonna find ways to adapt, to be robust.
ADVERTISEMENT
Comments on RugbyPass
Not sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
225 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
225 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
16 Go to commentsI would like to see a rule change, when the attacking team is held up over the try line, by allowing the defensive team to restart a goal line drop out releases the pressure for the defensive team, but what if the attacking team had to restart a tap 5m out from the defensive team it gives the attacking team to apply more pressure, there are endless options for the attacking side and it will keep the fans in suspence.
2 Go to commentsLess modern South African males predictably triggered.
16 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to comments