Battle of the 'brutes' in Aussie showpiece
While the Queensland Reds battled their way into the Super Rugby AU final, the Brumbies put their feet up and will be at full strength for the grand finale showdown in Canberra on Saturday.
It will be the fourth time this year the two rivals meet – the Brumbies having won twice and the Reds will in their last encounter.
It will be the first decider in Canberra since the Brumbies beat the Crusaders 47-28 in 2004.
The two Aussies franchises met in Super Rugby Round One on January 31 – the Brumbies edging a brutal contest 27-24 in Canberra and winning try count four-to-three.
Their next encounter was in Round Five of Super Rugby AU on August 1 in Canberra – the Brumbies edging an equally bruising affair 22-20 and winning the try count three-to-two. The only real difference was that the Reds relied a lot more on defence – making more than 200 tackles, compared to the 130-odd of the Brumbies.
The Reds finally got one over on the Brumbies in Round 10 of Super Rugby AU – effectively a dead rubber, after the Brumbies had already qualified for the Final. The Reds won convincingly 26-7 in Brisbane and outscored the Brumbies by three-tries-to-one. The Brumbies seemed to lack motivation.
The Brumbies earned a weekend off after topping the regular season ladder, while the Reds eliminated the Rebels in a brutal match that resulted in a number of casualties, including star Queensland centre Jordan Petaia.
The young gun was forced off with a head knock, but is expected to take his place in the final – while wing Chris Feauai-Sautia is in doubt with a groin injury.
Brumbies fullback Tom Banks said they took the weekend off to freshen up but kept an eye on the Reds game.
“It was a really physical battle and the Reds played really well,” Banks said on Monday.
“It was good to have the weekend off to get away from footy and now we’ve start a good week of prep to fine-tune a few things and really come into the game firing.
“It all comes back to us this week,” Banks, who was one of 13 Brumbies included the Wallabies squad on Sunday, said.
“We know we didn’t do too well against them last time and we know what we need to improve on.”
Reds centre Hunter Paisami said his team is also up for the challenge.
Named in an extended 44-man Wallabies squad for upcoming Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship matches, he played a big role in Queensland’s 25-13 semifinal win over the Melbourne Rebels this past weekend.
Paisami suffered an MCL tear in his knee last month may yet in glory for the former Rebels player.
Starting or once again coming off the bench, Paisami said he’s ready to play his role as the Reds aim to upset the Brumbies in Canberra.
“I’ll be happy to try to do my job. Whether it’s minutes, seconds, I’ll just try to make the most of it,” he said.
“I’m pretty keen. I’m pumped.”
