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This Saturday evening sees the Brumbies travel to Hamilton as they aim to defeat the Chiefs and win the 2013 Super Rugby tournament.
The Brumbies, finishing in third, had to defeat the Cheetahs in Canberra before making the trip to Pretoria to take on the Bulls.
Finishing in second place, the Bulls were awarded a first round bye and a home semi-final.
The Brumbies began the match with a surprising dominance, Jesse Mogg getting the ball down for an 11th-minute try.
The travelling team found themselves 10-0 up after 15 minutes. The Bulls got a try of their own in the 16th minute, but the Brumbies went into the break with a 16-11 lead.
It was not until 20 minutes to go that the Bulls took the lead for the first time, with Morne Steyn penalty kick taking the score to 20-19.
As the clock wore down the Bulls were awarded several successive penalties, but each time chose to kick the ball into touch rather than kick for three points.
At first the crowd was pleased that their team was going for more tries, though as time counted down the fans turned against the Bulls who were failing to add to their slender lead.
Steyn eventually kicked for goal after a penalty in the 76th minute to give the home-side a four point lead.
But some great ball movement only a few seconds later handed the Brumbies the win when Tevita Kuridrani crossed the line for a try.
With the siren gone, the Brumbies had made the final even if Lealiifano’s conversion was not successful. But the kick was a good one, and the Brumbies won 26-23 in the last seconds of the match.
The Chiefs have a brilliant kicker and fly-half in Aaron Cruden, but the Brumbies have both of these roles filled by Matt Toomua and Christian Lealiifano who have both been exceptional this season.
Cruden is definitely a danger man for the Cheifs, and it will be up to Toomua to reduce his potency.
We saw against the Bulls that Toomua likes to tackle his opposite number heavily and early on, let them know what he is capable of.
The creativity of the Brumbies fly-half is also an important asset, highlighted by the match-winning try he set up against the Bulls.
Much of the success of the Brumbies this season can be accredited to the expert kicking of Christian Lealiifano.
His kicking stats against the Bulls last match were two conversions from two, and four penalty goals from five attempts, giving him an impressive 85 percent success rate.
For a very young and inexperienced squad, the veteran George Smith (33) and Clyde Rathbone (32) add some quality experience to the squad.
What the Brumbies need to do to win:
The Brumbies gave away more penalties in their semi-final that the Chiefs, with Cruden’s kicking they have to be careful or will give away too many points.
The Brumbies started very strong and aggressive against the Bulls. They will need to do this again, and make the Chiefs case them for the lead.
As they have done all season, the Brumbies will need to be solid in defence and keep the Chiefs out for as long as possible.
They may enter the match as underdogs, but with an impressive semi-final victory over the Bulls I feel the Brumbies may have what it takes. Jake White’s tactics have been exceptional this season and I believe he has the game plan to defeat the Chiefs.
Prediction: Brumbies by three.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.