Carter blow for Brumbies

Wallaby lock Sam Carter will be sidelined for up to three months, after injuring his knee while playing Super Rugby for the Brumbies.

Scans, taken on Saturday, showed that Carter had suffered a torn medial ligament, an injury that takes 12 weeks to clear.

The second row forward will miss the rest of the Super Rugby season as well as Australia's pre-World Cup matches.

Carter, who started 11 Tests for Australia last year, required lengthy treatment on the pitch at Canberra Stadium on Friday, after twisting the joint in the 22-16 victory over the Bulls, which kept the Brumbies in the play-off hunt.

Carter tried to run off the injury but was unable to move freely because of the strain, and was ordered to undergo tests on Saturday.

"Like any Test player, international player, it's going to be a loss to your team," Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham told reporters after the match.

"He had a bit of a spell out of the game, but I thought the last couple of weeks he's really played exceptionally well.

"But I think we're lucky we've got good experience in the second row with Blake Enever and Rory Arnold.

"I think those guys have gained enough experience throughout the year to be able to fill the shoes that Carts leaves."

The emergence of towering lock Arnold has been a major boost to the Brumbies this year and a Wallabies call-up for the Rugby Championship would not be out of the question.

Lock forward is a department where Australia coach Michael Cheika does not have the resources he has in other areas of his squad.

The Brumbies head to Perth to play Western Force in their penultimate match next weekend before rounding out the regular season at home to the Crusaders.

It was a Henry Speight double that got the Brumbies past the Bulls.

After the bruising encounter Speight said that the side knew the Bulls would be physical and that his side needed the win to keep in the competition.

"Yeah it was very physical," Speight said.

"It was a really tough match and we had to really rein it up, but I think the boys knew that the season was on the line and that win was really crucial.  I'm just happy to get the win.

"It's a win by win basis for us. We've won one now. Next week is next week and we can't afford to look past that.  It's back to the drawing board on Monday and we'll keep moving forward."

With a World Cup looming, Speight's impressive form will have undoubtedly captured the attention of Wallabies head-coach Michael Cheika, with a number of players pressing to play on the wing.

Speight said that he was thrilled to have scored twice against his South African opposite, Bjorn Basson, who he signaled out during the captain's run on Thursday as a key player for the Bulls.

"It's always a tough match-up coming up against a South African international, but it's good to test yourself against quality opposition," he said.

"Thanks to Whitey for giving me the ball, I was able to get a couple past him.

"If you can't get around him it's just about getting through him. Keeping soft shoulders and just carrying hard and keeping the leg driving."

Scott Fardy was also pleased with the victory.

"It's always tough against the South African sides, they're always very physical – but we managed to hold up well especially at the set piece. We are very happy to come away with the four points."

Fardy also said he was impressed with the Brumbies resolve.

"We held out for a long time at the end there against a very strong and physical side so that's a massive positive we can take out of this game.