Brumbies on high alert for major Hurricanes threat
While much has been made of the breakdown battle, the ACT Brumbies are on high alert for the threat coming from the Hurricanes back-line in their Super Rugby Pacific qualifying final.
The Brumbies are out to make amends at GIO Stadium on Saturday's after the Hurricanes snapped an eight-year losing streak in Canberra in round 11 when they cracked a 35-29 win.
That scoreline set up their charge to the play-offs, winning six straight.
Hurricanes winger Kini Naholo was pivotal in the match, making 10 tackle-busts en route to two tries, but will miss the final after suffering an ACL injury last month with Fatafehi Fineanganofo taking his place.
Brumbies fullback Tom Wright said there was still plenty of strike weapons in the visitors' line-up and they couldn't give them any room to move.
Peter Umaga-Jensen and Billy Proctor are two of the form centres of the competition and will keep the Brumbies pairing of Len Ikitau and David Feliuai on their toes.
"I saw Umaga-Jensen carve out a pretty decent try on the weekend and Billy Proctor obviously, you don't have to go looking too far at the season that he's had also, so I dare say Len and Dave will have their hands full," Test No.15 Wright said.
"The Hurricanes bring in that sort of expansive style of football, they play an exciting game and there's going to be a lot of points scored so we're looking forward to that challenge, but, you know, we didn't get here, by accident either.
"With the season our centres have had as well, I know that they're (Hurricanes) going to be looking at that pretty seriously and trying to stop them at the same time, so it's going to be a good battle."
A lil' slice and dice through the defence from Peter Umaga-Jensen 😮💨#SuperRugbyPacific #HURvMOA pic.twitter.com/zzvpmLnDbe
— Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) May 31, 2025
As well as a dominant home record, the ACT outfit have also enjoyed a favourable finals record against the Hurricanes, eliminating them in 1997, 2022 and 2023.
Dependent on the results of the other two finals, as the third-ranked team the Brumbies could still advance to the semi-finals even with a loss.
But after suffering a tight loss to the Crusaders in the final round, which cost them a top-two ladder position, Wright said his team wanted to control their own destiny.
He didn't feel they were far off their best against the Crusaders, with a slow start proving costly.
"For all the good work that we did we made it bloody hard on ourselves so we need to be a bit sharper as very much more of the same challenge will be coming at us this weekend from the Canes - big ball-carrying, physical guys with the footy, they want to impose themselves," Wright said.
"We're looking forward to bringing the game to them."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Brumbies join New Zealand heavyweights in Super Rugby semis
A gutsy ACT Brumbies Saturday ensured Australia's presence in the Super Rugby semi-finals with a 35-28 takedown of the in-form Wellington Hurricanes, joining New Zealand heavyweights Auckland Blues, Waikato Chiefs and Canterbury Crusaders. The 'Canes arrived in frigid Canberra unbeaten in six games, but after a fast start they were bossed by the Brumbies' front-rowers who bagged four of their five tries. Advertisement Their reward is a semi-final next week in Hamilton against the Chiefs, who suffered a last-gasp 20-19 defeat to the defending champion Blues. Despite losing, the Chiefs still advanced to the semis, and kept home advantage, as the highest-seeded loser under a revamped play-off system. The Blues travel to Christchurch to face the Crusaders, who opened the elimination round with a 32-12 win over the Queensland Reds on Friday. "It felt good to earn ourselves another week," said Brumbies skipper Allan Alaalatoa, who crossed for a try. "We knew it was probably going to take everything we had. I thought it was a much-improved effort from last time we played them." Advertisement A fifth-minute try from fullback Ruben Love after a free-flowing move set the 'Canes on their way, but the Brumbies quickly struck back when hooker Billy Pollard finished off a patient trademark rolling maul. They exchanged converted tries again before Pollard put the home side in front for the first time on the cusp of half-time, again crashing over after a rolling maul for a 21-14 advantage. The hosts extended their lead six minutes after the break when Tom Wright combined with Wallabies teammate Rob Valetini to slice open the defence. A determined Hurricanes kept bouncing back, but a further converted Brumbies try from veteran prop James Slipper ultimately sealed the win. Advertisement - Grind - In Hamilton, Josh Beehre scored a try after the final hooter to keep the Blues' title defence alive. Fly-half Beauden Barrett added the extras in a dramatic finish to a game the Chiefs dominated before being over-run by their fast-finishing opponents, who only snuck into the play-offs as the sixth and lowest qualifiers. Both Blues tries came in the final 15 minutes after trailing 19-6. Hooker Kurt Eklund burrowed over to get the Blues back in the contest before another substitute forward, lock Beehre, stretched out in the 82nd minute. "There's been a whole lot of ups and downs in our season so we've got to enjoy that kind of moment," said Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu, whose side lost five of their first six games this season. Advertisement "The Chiefs have been number one all season, they've pretty much set the tone. "We didn't want to draw too much on emotion tonight, we knew emotion would only get us so far. I'm glad we were able to grind it out in the last 10 minutes." Chiefs captain Tupou Vaa'i was unhappy his side couldn't knock out a Blues team who beat them in last year's grand final. "Definitely disappointed, I thought we had that game in the bag," Vaa'i said. "I guess footy's a strange game sometimes. You can start on a high and then it can humble you real quick." dgi-mp/rsc
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Brumbies into Super Rugby semi-final with 'Canes win
The ACT Brumbies have booked a Super Rugby Pacific semi-final berth with a gutsy 35-28 playoffs win over the Hurricanes at GIO Stadium. The home side's forward pack were prolific, with hooker Billy Pollard scoring a double, in the Brumbies' five-tries-to-four victory over the Wellingtonians on Saturday night. The Brumbies will now need to make history by beating the ladder-topping Chiefs in Hamilton next weekend to avoid a fourth straight semi-final exit against a New Zealand club. MAGIC ball from Rob Valetini to Tom Wright 🪄#SuperRugbyPacific #BRUvHUR — Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) June 7, 2025 No Australian side has won a knock-out game in New Zealand in the almost 30-year history of the competition. The tried-and-tested methods of rolling mauls and pick-and-drives paid dividends for the Brumbies. After the Hurricanes opened the scoring through fullback Ruben Love, a Brumbies maul from a lineout in opposition territory slowly but surely rolled over the tryline, with Pollard the man to dot down through a sea of bodies. Fatafehi Fineanganofo hit back for the visitors before Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa burrowed over after a succession of pick-and-drives on the Hurricanes' line. With three minutes left in the first half, the Brumbies opted not to take a penalty goal from right in front, instead chancing their arms again with another lineout. Their gamble paid off with Pollard managing to break off the blindside and dive onto the tryline to give the Brumbies a seven-point lead at the break. Double trouble from Billy Pollard 💪#SuperRugbyPacific #BRUvHUR — Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) June 7, 2025 The sides traded seven-pointers in the second half, with a try to Brumbies fullback Tom Wright cancelled out by one from Bailyn Sullivan. Veteran Brumbies prop James Slipper scored with another pick-and-drive before Hurricanes substitute Pasilio Tosi narrowed the gap to one try to ramp up the tension in the dying minutes. The Hurricanes burst into the Brumbies half through a Callum Harkin linebreak in the final minute but Luke Reimer stepped up for the home side to steal the pill and settle the victory. The defending champion Blues' last-gasp win over the Chiefs earlier in the night heaped the pressure on the third-placed Brumbies, who knew a loss would consign them to bowing out before the semi-finals for the first time since 2018. Instead it was the fourth-placed Hurricanes who reached the end of the road in their season.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Blues keep Super title defence alive with last-gasp win
Josh Beehre has scored a converted try after the hooter as the Blues kept their Super Rugby Pacific title defence alive with a 20-19 victory over the ladder-topping Chiefs in Hamilton to scrape into the playoff semi-finals. The Chiefs still advance to the last four under the "lucky losers" rule, but it was do-or-die on Saturday for the sixth-placed Blues who produced a suitably desperate performance. The MATCH WINNING moments! 🥵Josh Beehre with the try and Beauden Barrett with the all important kick!#SuperRugbyPacific #CHIvBLU — Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) June 7, 2025 A try from centre Daniel Rona and 14 points from the boot of Damian McKenzie looked to have earned the Chiefs the win but the Blues pounded away at the line in a frantic finish before lock Beehre reached over to score and Beauden Barrett converted. "There's been a whole lot of ups and downs through our season, and... although there's another week for us, we've got to enjoy that kind of moment," said Blues skipper Patrick Tuipulotu. "I'm glad we were able to sort of grind it out in that last 10 minutes." The match at Waikato Stadium was dominated by a titanic forward battle complemented by a dazzling duel between All Blacks playmakers McKenzie and Barrett. Three penalties from McKenzie to one from Barrett gave the Chiefs a 9-3 lead at halftime after both sides bombed what looked like certain tries. Chiefs centre Rona burst down the left wing in the 27th minute and while his kick infield looked to have given Cortez Ratima a try on a plate, the scrumhalf knocked on with the line at his mercy. McKenzie gave the Chiefs a 6-3 lead with his second penalty four minutes later and hit the turf soon afterwards after being tripped by Ricky Riccitelli while chasing a Shaun Stevenson chip through. That earned the hooker 10 minutes in the sin bin and McKenzie added his third three-pointer from the resultant penalty but Barrett was not done with his contribution to the first half. The twice World Player of the year chipped the ball over the home defensive line at midfield, got to it first and volleyed it past the last defenders but was unable to get his hands on it under the posts. Barrett cut the deficit with his second penalty soon after the break but McKenzie responded in kind three minutes later and the Chiefs were 19-6 ahead just before the hour mark. The home side laid siege to the Blues try line and a superbly judged pass from McKenzie sent Rona through a gap in the defensive line for the first try of the game. Daniel Rona with the first try of the night!#SuperRugbyPacific #CHIvBLU — Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) June 7, 2025 Caleb Clarke got across the try line for the Blues minutes later only to have the ball knocked out of his grasp but forward Kurt Eklund was able to force his way over for a converted try that cut the deficit to 19-13 with 15 minutes to play. Blues number eight Hoskins Sotutu was denied what would have been a winning try when he was called back for crawling and it was left to Beehre to secure the victory. "I thought we had that game in the bag," said Chiefs lock Tupou Vaa'i. "I guess footy's a strange game sometimes and you can start on a high and then it can humble you real quick. "I guess we've still got a life now, and our season's not over yet."
