Coach Steve Larkham threw down the gauntlet to the other five Super Rugby qualifiers when his Brumbies piled on seven tries to one in a 47-25 victory over the Force.
In chilly Canberra, the Brumbies played hot rugby that was a pleasure to watch.
Those who remember the 97 kicking game loss to the Waratahs wouldn’t have recognised the Brumbies last night.
Led by fly-half Matt Toomua’s hat-trick of tries, the first for the Brumbies since Mark Gerrard’s in their 47-28 win over Canterbury in the 2004 final, the Brumbies were a slick outfit all night, proving if the coach lets them play attractive entertaining rugby, they are as good as any team in the tournament.
The loss ended the Force’s campaign, but they can look back on 2014 with a lot of satisfaction with a best-ever nine wins, and a sniff at finals for the first time.
But on the night, they were simply outplayed by the Brumbies.
Now interest centres om who the Brumbies will play at the business end of the tournament..
As the table sits. the Waratahs have already won the minor premiership on 53 points, and meet the Reds at Suncorp tonight.
The big decider will be the Crusaders (46 points) and Highlanders (42) clash in Christchurch tonight ,where the home team is mighty hard to beat.
The other telling vlash will be the Stormers and Sharks (46) in Cape Town early tomorrow morning.
If the Crusaders win they go to 50, and the Highlanders will qualify sixth on 42.
If the Sharks win they also go to 50, and it will depend on for and against which team finishes in the all-important second place.
The Brumbies (45) and Chiefs (44) have completed their schedule with their wins last night.
So the final table could look like this:
(1) Waratahs 57
(2) Crusaders 50
(3) Sharks 50
(4) Brumbies 45
(5) Chiefs 44
(6) Higlanders 42
If that’s the case, the Waratahs and Crusaders will have next weekend off, which is a plus and a minus
A plus to heal any niggling injuries, but a momentum loss with no game for a fortnight in a sudden-death format.
Next weekend, the Sharks would play the Highlanders at home, and the Brumbies would the Chiefs in Canberra.
In a fortnight, the Waratahs would play the lowest-ranked qualifier at Allianz, and the Crusaders would meet the highest ranked in Christchurch..
The final would be between the two winners of the semis, at the home ground of the lowest ranked.
Now most of those predictions would be destroyed if the Highlanders beat the Crusaders, and the Stormers beat the Sharks
The only sure bet is the Waratahs, Crusaders, Sharks. Brumbies, Chiefs, and Highlanders are the six Super Rugby qualifiers, but the finishing order hinges on yet to be determined results.
Meaning New Zealand has three qualifiers, Australian two, and South Africa just the one.
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