Brumbies captain Ben Mowen has stoked the fire ahead of Saturday night’s sudden-death showdown with the NSW Waratahs and declared his side deserving of the Super Rugby title.
The Waratahs enter the blockbuster derby in Sydney as favourites after running away with the minor premiership with a franchise-record seven consecutive wins.
Mowen, though, believes the Brumbies should be rewarded with a championship after three years of hard work since the side’s catastrophic 2011 campaign.
The Brumbies notched just four wins for a franchise-low 13th-place finish in 2011.
But the the arrival of Mowen from the Waratahs and World Cup-winning Springboks coach Jake White – as well as the rapid development of several talented players – lifted them to seventh, second and fourth in the past three seasons.
“I honestly believe the group deserves a championship for the work that’s been done,” Mowen said on Friday.
“Not only the last 12 months but over the last three and a bit years.
“But thinking you deserve one and actually getting one are two different things.
“That’s the message we’ve been pushing, is we’ve got to make things happen.
“For me personally, I’m very motivated to make sure that this group gets what they deserve.”
Saturday’s clash could be Mowen’s last for the Brumbies, with the back-rower joining French club Montpellier.
Despite believing the Brumbies deserve a title, the former Wallabies captain rates the task of toppling the Waratahs at Allianz Stadium an even bigger challenge than beating the Bulls in Pretoria at the corresponding stage of last year’s competition.
“That was obviously a great milestone for the team, to go over there and achieve that, but I think the way that the Waratahs have played this year, they have really stamped themselves on the competition,” Mowen said.
But the experience of going all the way to last year’s final has stood the Brumbies in good stead, according to Mowen.
“We probably burned ourselves out a little bit through the training week, with being over-excited for game day, where this year we’re definitely a lot more measured,” Mowen said.
While director of rugby Laurie Fisher believes the Brumbies are playing better than at any other stage of the season, Mowen feels they are still to peak.
“I actually think that we’re getting better week to week,” Mowen said.
“I’d be a little concerned if we were playing our best footy.
“We’re finding heaps of areas to improve and I think statistically you can see that in our game the last fortnight.
“We’ve scored 11 tries in the last two weeks, so our attack feels really confident and our defence is working hard.
“Having that extra game (the qualifying final) has probably played a lot of guys into form.”
Brumbies Jack
Guest
Read the article Peter K rather than project your bias
Mike
Guest
Unfortunately for Mowen, Will Munny in "Unforgiven" was right: "Deserve's got nothin' to do with it."
saus
Guest
Can't wait for a cracking game. An interesting note that two of the tahs best players in hooper and AAC were developed through the brumbies system.
ben
Guest
No he didnt.....i did.....let me give you a hint....any one of the last 4 have worked just as hard.
X.L.S HtowN.Z
Guest
Animosity an hate is usually a result of ones owns insecuritys .
Sportym
Guest
How about you actually read the article and not just the silly title made to generate page hits ;)
Sportym
Guest
Good to see the tahs culture, where one player deserves it ;) lol
Sportym
Guest
Did he say that??? Let me give you a hint, he is the Captain of the Brumbies!!
X.L.S HtowN.Z
Guest
Sweet as bro . Glad to hear you enjoyed our hospitality . Funnily enough I actually watched the game from Thredbo with a couple an there kids from Canberra . Great day of boarding followed by few beers an the game - a day to remember thats for sure . All the best for tonight an next week bro .
Sportym
Guest
Good on him as Captain for recognising what the boys put in. The other three captains playing today will say the same thing. The title though was created to generate page hits. As Mowen said , thinking you deserve one and getting one, are two different things, this applies to all 4 teams.
44bottles
Roar Guru
What does AAC have to do with mowen?
Squirrel
Guest
I do not get so called rugby experts see either of these games as being close based on personnel and form. You guys are delusional. The tahs and shaders are on another level
WEST
Roar Guru
Not denying that (peterK). The Waratahs have never won a Super Rugby title, The Brumbies won the crown in 2001 and 2004, largely helped to those victories by then fly-half and current head coach Stephen Larkham. The teams have played 24 times in Super Rugby matches with the Waratahs winning 13 matches and the Brumbies 11. The Waratahs will go into Saturday's match at Sydney as the favorites, having finished in first place with 12 wins from 16 games during the regular season and after beating the Brumbies 39-8 when the teams last met only a month ago. That defeat put the Brumbies on the verge of missing the playoffs but they revived strongly to beat the Western Force 37-25 in a showdown for a playoff berth, then beat defending champions the Chiefs 32-30 to reach the semifinals. They now stand only one match away from their second-straight appearance in a Super Rugby final after last year's 27-22 loss to the Chiefs. Cheika is credited with leading the Waratahs' revival this season but believes the Brumbies are a formidable obstacle to his team's title ambitions. "Their key players are back, they've got just as many international players as we have and they've got an excellent record in the last two or three seasons," he said. "It's going to be a really good match.".... NO S##T. Brumbies will give the Waratahs a damn good run for their money.
pick & go..!!
Guest
Everyone of the four teams remaining deserve the title..!! It just comes down to which team will take it. Good luck to all four team's.. I'll be at the game go the Tahs..!!
Nek Minnut
Guest
Mo-mo!? Best to do rather than to say you should get dont you think? Does Mowen think that others havnt shed blood and sweat too? Silly to say this sort of thing imo.
PeterK
Roar Guru
brumbies have just as much talent in the backline, they are a wallby laden outfit as well.
PeterK
Roar Guru
No he never said that they were not entitled to one. He said they deserved one (which IS entitlement) but getting it is another thing entirely. So he does think the brumbies are entitled.
WEST
Roar Guru
Just being positive, this is cut throat finals rugby. The Brumbies will have to play a very physical game up front and try and smash the biggest Australian team, the brumbies strength is in their organization and togetherness they mix it up well with forwards and backs. The Brumbies can put pressure on the Waratahs but I doubt the Brumbies will dominate. The Chiefs were very flat against them and lacked the physical edge, the Brumbies were far cleaner at the breakdown and just better organized. The Brumbies are coordinated and have options in attack, they will need to try and hold onto the ball and deny the Waratahs possession because once the Waratahs play through a few phases they will break through somewhere with the amount of talent in their back-line. Also, sometimes a break can break up a rhythm, where the other teams who have had their backs up against the wall with intense rugby can be better prepared, doing it tough can lift your performance.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Ben Mowen, next season in France will be a long one, 10 months of rugby. You deserve an extra week off mate. You know how to get it. Your holiday starts tonight at 9.30pm (or even 7.30pm!) .
Squirrel
Guest
Mowen can win his title in France. Very overrated glad he is going. AAC deserves it. Lucky the rain will keep the score down. 10-15 PTs now