They tamed the Lions, conquered the Cheetahs and battled the Bulls, but the brave Brumbies fell at the final hurdle.
Maybe it was jet-lag or too much pressure, or maybe the Chiefs were just too good.
But after making their first final since 2004, the 2013 Super Rugby season can definitely go down as a good one for the Brumbies and Jake White and co. will hope to build upon this campaign next season.
After topping the Australian conference the Brumbies drew the Cheetahs at home. It was a narrow match and the home-side only progressed through when the Cheetahs failed to convert a try in the dying seconds.
The Reds also progressed through to the finals, but were defeated 38-9 by the Crusaders, their worst loss of the season.
The Brumbies travelled to Pretoria for their semi-final clash with the Bulls. With the Reds knocked out, the Brumbies were not only playing for Canberra but for the rest of Australia too.
And the travelling side began the match with impressive dominance. Only 15 minutes in and the Brumbies already had a 10-0 lead.
As the match progressed the Bulls managed to get back into the match and regained the lead in the last 20 minutes. After refusing to kick a number of penalties for goal, the Bulls lost the lead when Kurindrani scored a try in the dying seconds.
The Brumbies progressed to their first Final in nine years with their 26-23 upset victory over the Bulls.
And again the Brumbies got off to a good start. After Lealiifano kicked the Brumbies first penalty in the sixth minute, the travelling side held the lead until the last ten minutes.
The Chiefs found the determination they needed and stepped the match up another level, scoring two tries in a matter of minutes to take a slender lead. A successful Cruden kick later and the Chiefs held on for a 27-22 victory.
Post-match and Brumbies Jake White, who has done incredible things in his first two seasons in Canberra, announced that his side will learn from their 2013 finals mistakes and build a stronger team for next season.
As the Brumbies began to dominate the Grand Final, Chiefs coach Dave Rennie brought on fresh players to take charge. It was Robbie Robinson, one of these subs, who ran 30 metres to score the winning try.
White failed to react to these changes, but post-match admitted that “we are going to have to get a stronger bench and make sure that bench understands the pressures that come with it.”
It was very obvious who the most experienced team was in the tail-end of the second half. White explained that, “You can’t replicate that in training, it only happens in finals when there is pressure like that around.”
After going through such an intense final the Brumbies will have gained some experience and motivation to lead them to bigger and better things next season.
Elsewhere in the Australian conference, Richard Graham has replaced Ewen McKenzie as coach of the Queensland Reds.
Their 29-point loss to the Crusaders will have added a sour note to an otherwise solid season. Under McKenzie the Reds played very attacking football, concentrating much more on going forwards than on the defence.
And perhaps this was their downfall against the Crusaders who took advantage of the Reds’ defensive frailties.
It remains to be seen in which direction new coach Graham will take the Reds and if he will attempt to alter their playing style.
After seeing the brand of rugby the Brumbies played and how far it got him into the tournament, will Graham be tempted to play like that? And if so, how will the loyal Queensland supporters feel about this?
The Waratahs will be disappointed with their season. They were never going to challenge for finals football with an equal eight wins and eight defeats. But the New South Wales club has an impressive squad and will hope to improve next season.
Formerly from AFL and NRL, Israel Folau began the season slowly, but seems to have learnt the intricacies of Super Rugby and has already appeared for the Wallabies.
It was Waratahs coach Michael Cheika’s first season in Sydney as well. And Cheika has admitted that he is looking for some new players before next season’s start.
“I’m looking for a player with a bit more edge, maybe rugby’s version of one of the Burgess brothers,” said the Waratahs coach, talking on the big English brothers playing for NRL club South Sydney Rabbitohs.
“I think we also need a young, dynamic, ball-running lock who can create play as well as be a bit hard.”
The Rebels and the Force failed to impress this season. The Brumbies and the Reds managed ten wins each, but even between the two of them the Rebels and Force couldn’t manage this many wins.
Overall it was a good season for Australian rugby, and the Brumbies, Reds and Waratahs are showing promising signs for the future.
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