The 29-year finals curse Australian sides must overcome to win Super Rugby
The Brumbies will welcome back Wallabies playmaker Noah Lolesio to start against the Crusaders on Friday, as they push for a first top-two finish in Super Rugby in 21 years.
They'll also be hoping to avoid a familiar fate – no Australian team has ever won a finals match in New Zealand since the competition began in 1996.
Lolesio returns to start for the Brumbies at five-eighth, two weeks after leaving the field on a stretcher in a neck brace after sustaining a back injury against the Force.
The Brumbies are Australia's most successful side after winning two Super Rugby titles in 2001 and 2004, finishing at the top of the ladder both times.
This season, Super Rugby has reduced the number of teams in the finals from eight to six, including the highest-ranked lucky loser from the qualifying finals, who will have another chance to play in the semi-finals.
If the Brumbies beat the Crusaders and the top-placed Chiefs defeat the bottom-placed Highlanders, the ACT will finish second in the table, which would give them a qualifying final and a potential semi-final in Canberra.
There is also a slim chance the Brumbies could finish top of the ladder if the Chiefs lose to the Highlanders without a bonus point. If the ACT then finish as the highest-ranked semi-final winners, they would also host the grand final.
An added motivation for the Brumbies in their quest to finish second is the fact that only two Super Rugby titles have been won by a team from outside the top two on the ladder.
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