Frustrated Brumbies go back to the Super drawing board
Frustrated ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham will go back to the drawing board after his team fell short in their Super Rugby Pacific semi-final against the Chiefs, continuing the horror record for Australian teams in New Zealand.
The Brumbies went down 37-17 in Hamilton, which was the third successive time under Larkham they've reached the last four but failed to make the title match.
It stretched the run to 0-21 for Australian teams in Super play-off matches across the ditch.
Despite Wallabies playmaker Noah Lolesio being an early casualty after a head knock, the Brumbies only trailed 19-12 at halftime.
They closed the margin to two points, with winger Corey Toole putting his hand up for Wallabies selection by showing his finishing prowess in his second try of the night.
But on the back of a slew of penalties, which star flyhalf Damian McKenzie guided through the posts, momentum swung to the Chiefs.
McKenzie finished with six penalties, two conversions, one try-assist and a miracle try-saving tackle on Tom Wright.
Larkham said his team had the right game plan but their execution and discipline let them down, particularly in the second half.
"It sort of went back and forth for the first 50 minutes there and I thought our physicality was outstanding," Larkham said.
"Then in the second half, there became a point there where we're obviously chasing the game and we're trying to hold the ball to score and it's tough conditions to do that in.
"There's frustration because it's the same story as last year and we've had this story for more than two years in a row now and it's not a good feeling, obviously, getting this far in the competition and not getting to the final hurdle."
The Wallabies great said they would go through the same reflective process as they did last year to try to ensure a better outcome in 2026.
"There's lots of areas that fell down - set-piece, kick-off receipt exits, things that we'll look at.
"We'll go through the process of identifying, particularly in these last two games, what wasn't robust, what wasn't good enough, and then just spend enough time in the pre-season and in-season to put us in a better position next year.
"Hopefully put in a better performance, a more consistent performance for 80 minutes, next year."
DMAC WITH THE TRY SAVE! 🤯The guy can do it all 🥵#SuperRugbyPacific #CHIvBRU pic.twitter.com/xHiQMfOsDY— Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) June 14, 2025
Larkham, who was part of the Brumbies' title wins in 2001 and 2004, said his team arrived in New Zealand with belief they could be the team to end the hoodoo.
"Psychologically, I thought we were in a good place, I thought that our preparation was really good," he said.
"It's hard to play away from home, whether it's in Australia or New Zealand, it's hard to play away from home."
The Chiefs will face the Crusaders in the final in Christchurch, losing their home advantage after their shock qualifying final defeat by the Blues.
While he thought the Chiefs were playing well, Larkham felt the Crusaders could be tough to topple at home.
"The home crowd advantage, the hometown advantage for the Crusaders might be too much," he said.
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