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'The pressure is on them': Brumbies and Reds captains go head-to-head in war of words ahead of Super Rugby AU final
Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa maintains the pressure is all on the Queensland Reds ahead of their Super Rugby AU grand final showdown in Brisbane on Saturday.
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The table-topping Reds will look to avenge for last season’s grand final defeat to the Brumbies in Canberra by securing their first title since 2011 in front of what’s expected to be an almost sold-out crowd at Suncorp Stadium.
Such a big crowd for a Super Rugby fixture has become a rarity, not only in Brisbane, but across all of Australia in recent seasons.
The fact that more than 40,000 people are set to turn up to this season’s final is reflective of how significant the occasion is and what the highly-anticipated encounter means to the Queensland faithful.
It’s for that reason that Alaalatoa believes the hosts are under the more pressure than the defending champions to come up trumps, a sentiment he didn’t shy away from while speaking to media on Friday.
“We think the Reds are in red-hot form,” Alaalatoa said of the Queenslanders, who finished the regular season with seven wins from eight matches, their only defeat coming in their last match against a Jordan Olowofela-inspired Western Force outfit.
“They’re a team that have obviously beaten us twice and a team that’s been playing some great footy. They’ve got a home grand final in front of their fans, so we think that the pressure is on them.
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“For us, it’s all about making sure that we do our job and that job was to have a good week of prep and just to be clear in our minds in our execution for tomorrow.”
However, despite Alaalatoa’s best attempt to get inside the heads of his opponents, Reds captain James O’Connor shrugged off any suggestion that his side’s form throughout the campaign dictates how much pressure they are feeling heading into the final.
“There’s always mind games in footy. We respect them and we know they’re a great outfit, but for us, it’s whoever wants it more,” O’Connor said in response to Alaalatoa’s comments.
“It’s a final. History doesn’t matter. It’s literally who’s going to turn up, so that’s all we’re thinking about.”
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Given their dominance throughout the round-robin of Super Rugby AU, it’s unsurprising to see the Reds labelled by many as title favourites.
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In fact, that dominance has been harnessed by the franchise’s marketing team, who have promoted the grand final on social media this week as “our time” to clinch Queensland’s first championship in a decade.
Alaalatoa said he disregarded those claims as he acknowledged that the Reds are currently the premier side in Australia, a status the Brumbies know well as the reigning Super Rugby AU champions and three-time title-holders.
“When you’ve got a home grand final, when you’re playing some good footy and beaten the title defenders twice, you’d automatically have that vibe,” the 43-test Wallabies prop said.
“From us, we’ve got to come out and execute our game plan, try not to get too stirred up in all the emotional side of things and just understand what we need to do from the first minute to the 80th.”
O’Connor added that his side view the Brumbies with a high amount of respect given what they have achieved in the past.
“I think we respect them. We see them as being atop of the Australian franchises for a long time, even going back 20 years. I saw something the other night where they’ve won three Super titles, so we respect them,” the 30-year-old playmaker said.
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In spite of their opponents’ previous successes, though, O’Connor was adamant whoever walks away with the Super Rugby AU trophy on Saturday will be the side that goes into the match with the most pressing desire to win – irrespective of past results.
“This is the first silverware I’ve been a part of on Australian soil. For me, everyone just talks about it being another game, but it isn’t another game. It’s a final. My mindset going into this is it’s the last game of the year for me, so it’s do-or-die.”
That’s not to say the Brumbies won’t be short on motivation to overcome the odds and retain their title, as indicated by Alaalatoa, who described the upcoming final as one of the biggest matches in his career.
“It’ll be one of the biggest ones. That’s something that we’ve spoken about throughout the week. To come out here, to win a final away from home in front of a sold-out crowd, it’d be huge and one of our finest memories yet.”
Kick-off for the Super Rugby AU final is scheduled for 7:45pm on Saturday [AEST].
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments