Jake's Brumbies 'do believe'
Jake White is adamant the Brumbies can upset the odds one more time and win the Super Rugby championship.
The Brumbies will play the Chiefs in the Super Rugby Final in Hamilton next week, after edging the Bulls 26-23 with a last-minute winner in Pretoria on Saturday.
The World Cup-winning former Springbok coach, White, said the players have done everything he has asked of them this season.
It means, against all odds, they beat the British and Irish Lions, won the Australian conference and finally beat the Bulls in the semifinal at Loftus Versfeld.
It required a last-minute Tevita Kuridrani try to secure the win, but White said his team can get up one more time.
"You got to believe you can," White said of the team's trip to Hamilton – a venue just as daunting as Loftus Versfeld.
"We came here and no one thought we could win at Loftus," White said, adding: "Now all of a sudden the hurdle gets bigger again.
"They [the players] have just done everything I have asked of them this year – beat the [British and Irish] Lions, won the Australian conference and beat the Bulls ate Loftus.
"Who knows, maybe if they just prepare and get their minds right we could be up for a surprise."
The Brumbies leave Pretoria on Sunday, get to Canberra on Monday.
"Tuesday they will have off," the coach said, adding: "We will do a bit of a session on Wednesday and then head to Sydney, overnight in Sydney and then head to Hamilton."
White spoke of "feeing good" and "being grateful" for the way his charges stuck to their guns after the Bulls took a 23-19 lead with five minutes left on the clock.
"It was always going to be tough and we knew that," he said, adding: "What you got to do in these situations is enjoy it, because we come back like that when a lot of people thought we were dead and buried.
"As a coach these are the moment you want to get involved in and I am just really grateful."
Captain ben Mowen said you can't underestimate the challenge of coming to Loftus and taking on the Bulls, adding the he was "extremely proud" of his team.
He described the Bulls as a team that plays with "a lot of spirit" and they understands their game plan to a T.
"That is probably why they have been so successful for so long," Mowen said.
The Brumbies dominated the first half, taking a 16-11 into the break, before the Bulls got into their stride and held that four-point lead in the final stages.
"Momentum comes and goes," Mowen said, adding: "You just got to make sure when its again you, it is not costing you on the scoreboard and I thought that at times we did that.
"We scrambled so well of our line of defence inside our 22. There were five or six times there where we had to make sure we put pressure on them in the air [line-outs]. Everyone knows they have an outstanding driving maul, so we had to do the job on the deck as well."
Mowen supported White in the believe that they can upstage the Chiefs next week.
"We really enjoy the travel, we love being away together as a group.
"Some of our best performances have been on the road, so I am just extremely proud of the guys."
