Expert
The Brumbies thrashed the Reds to the tune of 24 points on Saturday night.
Final score
Brumbies 45
Reds 21
The ACT Brumbies look to ignite their stumbling season against the Queensland Reds in a mouth-watering all-Aussie clash in Round 8 of this year’s Super Rugby. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 7:45pm AEST.
We’re almost halfway through the season already and it’s getting to that point where teams need to have found their stride and be playing consistently well to put themselves in contention for the finals.
For both sides this game is a very important one. For the Reds it represents the chance to get back to back wins over the Brumbies for the first time in forever, the chance to show that under Brad Thorn this new Reds approach is genuinely working and that early season success was not just a flash in the pan.
For the Brumbies this game is even more important – they’ve only won twice this season and are struggling for key combinations to fire. In the remaining games that they’ve got to play the top four Kiwi sides and the Lions in South Africa.
If they don’t start to turn things around now then the season is pretty close to over for them – a season where plenty of pundits were picking them to win the Australian Conference.
In an attempt to find some form the Brumbies have brought in some old talent and some new talent. Sam Carter is back from concussion and will bring leadership and talent to a pack that will be desperate to stamp their authority on a Reds pack that monstered them back in Round 3.
Brumbies fans will be hoping that Pocock and Carter will be able to start turning their packs into something that the opposition genuinely fear.
Banks returns at full back after being dropped recently and Matt Lucas gets a chance to make not only his debut but to make history in his first minute of Super Rugby as he will play against his brother in the same position for the Reds.
Unfortunately they will be missing Speight. The winger was due to play his 100th game this weekend but picked up an injury in training.
For the Reds they will have their back bolstered by returning skipper Higginbotham who will be eager to get his season back on track after his red card and sanctions earlier in the season.
In the centres the Reds will go for power with Kerevi matching up with Feauai-Sautia and the Brumbies midfield should get ready for an afternoon of crash balls coming at them time after time.
Prediction
Both sides have a lot at stake here and it promises to be a fantastic match up. While the Reds did lose their last game they’ll have more confidence coming into this game than the home side. The Brumbies have a good team on paper but as the great Brian Clough commented, the game is played on grass. It’s going to be close. Very close.
Reds to win by 3 points.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 7:45pm AEST.
Make sure you don’t miss a minute of Brumbies vs Reds by watching it on Fox Sports via Foxtel. From now until 21st April, you can subscribe to the Foxtel Sports and Entertainment packs from just $39 per month for 12 months.