Brumbies banking on 'terrible twins'

The likely return from injury of Matt Toomua means the Brumbies will have their twin strike power back when they face the Crusaders in a Super Rugby crunch match in Canberra on Saturday.

With the Waratahs holding onto the Australian conference lead by the most slender of margins, the Brumbies need a bonus-point win over the seven-time champions to keep the pressure up on their compatriots – the defending champs.

The Brumbies are level with the Waratahs on 47 points, but have one win less this season than their Sydney-based rivals.

Toomua, who missed last week's win over the Western Force with an ankle injury, returned to training on Tuesday and looks certain to be reunited with Christian Lealiifano in the No.10 and No.12 channels.

And even more strike power could return, in the form of Henry Speight, also recovering from injury.

Brumbies scrumhalf Nic White said coach Stephen Larkham looks set to use the two playmakers in tandem on Saturday, as they look for an expansive game that will bring net them four tries.

"He [Larkham] will probably go the same as the Lions [game] – leave [Lealiifano] at No.10 and [Toomua] at No.12, but they interchange so well," White told the Canberra Times.

"[Speight] did some change of direction [at training on Tuesday] and I assume he'll have right up until Saturday to prove his fitness.

"We've got good depth, but both of those guys are world class and having them is a huge boost."

White said the Brumbies have learnt their lessons from past years.

"We're trying not to go in our shell at the pointy end of the season," White said.

"The last couple of years we've been guilty of going into our shell in these big games, so it's about going out there and expressing ourselves.

"We're playing finals regardless, so you can go out there with a bit of confidence knowing that [with] a loss [we are] still going to come sixth."

Source: Canberra Times