Brumbies Bow Out With Heads Held High

Sydney Morning Herald

Monday May 7, 2007

Rupert Guinness in Dunedin

Highlanders 10

Brumbies 29

FOR two minutes in the chilly pre-dawn hours of Dunedin yesterday, Brumbies coach Laurie Fisher - still buzzing from his side's first Super 14 win over the Highlanders in Dunedin, on Saturday night - dared to believe the impossible may be possible.

As he watched Reds fullback Clinton Schifcofske kick a penalty to hand the Reds a 3-0 lead over the Bulls in Pretoria, the prospect of the Brumbies making the semis suddenly took shape. The night before at Carisbrook, the Brumbies had done all they could to secure a top-four spot, beating the Highlanders by more than 10 points and scoring four tries for a bonus point. Their fate rested in the off-chance of a Reds win. Hence, when they took the lead after two minutes, Fisher allowed his hopes, as slim as they were, to rocket as he watched the live television coverage that started at 5am in New Zealand.

That is, until two minutes later, when those same hopes fell just as quickly with the Bulls unleashing the first of their 13 tries (11 converted) in their incredible 92-3 win over the Reds.

"It was two minutes of joy," said Fisher of that short-lived spell when the Reds were in front. Still, he couldn't have felt nearly as bad as Reds breakaway David Croft after the Reds' shellacking stopped an Australian side from making the finals for only the second time - the first being in 1998. "I'm physically sick," said Croft, whose side finished last on the ladder.

For the Brumbies, their round-14 win at least offered plenty of positives to soothe the frustration of their second fifth-placed finish in three years - the first being in 2005, followed by sixth last season.

Besides being their first win at Dunedin, it was a fitting way for halves George Gregan and Stephen Larkham and hooker Jeremy Paul to put a seal on their Super 14 careers. It was also the first time that the two-time Super champions had won six games in a row in one season, in an effort characterised by the spirit of the dominant Wallabies sides of old.

Against the Highlanders, that spirit shone in the first half with three quick tries to fullback Julian Huxley, captain and outside-centre Stirling Mortlock and winger Adam Ashley-Cooper. But at no better period did that spirit shine than near the end when, after spending most of the second half on the opposition line, second-rower Mark Chisholm scored the fourth try they desperately needed in the 82nd minute.

Mortlock hopes the "hard edge" shown by the Brumbies since their winning run began with an historic win in round eight over the Sharks in Durban passes on to the Wallabies. "It's something we spoke about last year in the Wallabies, to get more of that hard edge to our game. Our team has shown positive signs of that," Mortlock said.

Larkham concurred, saying: "In the last six weeks we let ourselves down by not scoring tries so much. But we can still take a lot of confidence knowing we have great spirit and hopefully that transcends into the Wallabies."

Gregan, replaced at half-time due to a rolled ankle, said the run was a lesson in the virtue of patience. "Patience ... if you back it up with good execution and a strong belief within the team it can be a real asset," he said. "[It's about] guys staying calm and executing their role and job within that framework. That is what this team has been good at in the last six weeks."

© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald

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