The Brumbies plan to prove themselves “a bunch of fighters” in Saturday night’s Super Rugby showdown with the undefeated Highlanders.
Far from moping about their first defeat under coach Jake White, the Brumbies are drawing the positives from their last-minute 29-22 loss to the Chiefs last round.
Halfback Ian Prior said the Brumbies would use the defeat as ammunition – proof his under-rated side could mix it with the best teams in the competition.
“We’ve proved that we’re a bunch of fighters,” Prior said on Tuesday.
“The Chiefs are arguably one of the best New Zealand teams and we stuck with them for the full 80, so I think we can give it a good crack (against the Highlanders).”
But he admits the Brumbies will have to lift their performance to take on the Highlanders, who head the Kiwi conference table after four wins from as many games, including last weekend’s 19-17 victory over the Hurricanes.
“(We need to improve) ball security and just be really disciplined because the Highlanders and the Chiefs both attack the breakdown quite heavily and quite hard, so we’re going to have to be really switched on in that area.
“We have to be smart with our decision-making.”
The Brumbies are sixth on the ladder after two wins against the Western Force and the Cheetahs and a tight loss to the Chiefs – a record that backs’ coach Stephen Larkham believes has instilled more belief in the squad.
“We were written off by a lot of people at the beginning of the year,” Larkham said.
“The games haven’t panned out as nicely as we would have liked and we’ve certainly missed some opportunities, however we feel like we are a very competitive team.
“That’s what showing at the moment.”
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