all
Set small text size
all
Set default text size
all
Set large text size
Stephen Larkham is building a dog-eat-dog culture at the ACT Brumbies with players desperately trying to win his favor through intense training ground battles, and it’s paying off big time as they target a Super Rugby grand final.
The team overcame serious difficulties with set pieces on Saturday night to produce an outstanding second half performance. The starters and benchmen worked together to keep the Highlanders scoreless for the last 40 minutes of the quarterfinals.
While the back three of Tom Wright, Corey Toole and Andy Muirhead showcased their outrageous skills, Rob Valetini roared into the opposition line and Charlie Cale added another five-star performance to his resume. It was also a final defensive victory.
With just a few minutes left and the game safely abandoned, the Brumbies hurriedly denied the Highlanders’ consolation attempt.
(Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)
Wright said despite the comfortable state of the game, desperation was a sign of competitiveness within the ranks to secure a spot.
“The other side of the coin is that guys are disappointed to hear on Monday that they haven’t been selected for the 23rd,” Wright said.
Watch every Super Rugby Pacific match ad-free live and on-demand on Stan Sport, the home of rugby.
“A lot of credit will go to how hard everyone has to play to stay in the team.
“So you see (Wallaby Nick Frost) coming out of the picture late. People are trying to stay in the frame. Bernie is really big on making sure that when the ball is in play he makes sure.
So that’s something we try to be proud of.”
Even during training, you can’t escape that intensity. Larkham revealed he had called on disappointed squad members to start midweek.
“The reserves have done an incredible job this week,” Larkham said. “They hit the starters hard and taught them kind of a lesson in terms of intensity, and I think that’s what they adjusted to really well going into this game.”
Having enjoyed success with the Brumbies as a player, Larkham is determined to deliver on that as a coach.
Next up are the Blues, who have won their last two games without a good performance. They showed some vulnerability when a late concession cost them top spot on the ladder and a potential home grand final.
“Two years ago, we lost to the Blues in the semi-final and that’s not good enough,” Larkham said.
“Where we are right now, the goal for this team is not just to win the quarterfinals and get to the semifinals.”
One thing that will definitely be mentioned this week is the crazy record that an Australian team has never won a final on New Zealand soil.
For that ominous affair to be broken, Larkham may need James Slipper to recover from injury as his third-choice loosehead Harry Vella was underwhelmed against the Highlanders.
“Next week will be different. There’s no question about that,” Larkham said.
“I think the Blues have really good ball carriers and when they get inside the 22 they are very effective. So we will have to look at a strategy for this.
“Tonight was pretty good. In the first half when Andy (Muirhead) was sort of hampered we conceded a try but he didn’t make the tackle and left us short on the edge.
“Other than that, I thought our defense was excellent. Discipline let us down in the first half. There was scrum time and maybe a few high tackles and no rolling. “In the second half, our defense was completely different.”
