The Brumbies will welcome back Wallabies playmaker Noah Lolesio to start against the Crusaders on Friday, as they push for a first top-two finish in Super Rugby in 21 years.
They’ll also be hoping to avoid a familiar fate – no Australian team has ever won a finals match in New Zealand since the competition began in 1996.
Lolesio returns to start for the Brumbies at five-eighth, two weeks after leaving the field on a stretcher in a neck brace after sustaining a back injury against the Force.
The Brumbies are Australia’s most successful side after winning two Super Rugby titles in 2001 and 2004, finishing at the top of the ladder both times.
This season, Super Rugby has reduced the number of teams in the finals from eight to six, including the highest-ranked lucky loser from the qualifying finals, who will have another chance to play in the semi-finals.
If the Brumbies beat the Crusaders and the top-placed Chiefs defeat the bottom-placed Highlanders, the ACT will finish second in the table, which would give them a qualifying final and a potential semi-final in Canberra.
There is also a slim chance the Brumbies could finish top of the ladder if the Chiefs lose to the Highlanders without a bonus point. If the ACT then finish as the highest-ranked semi-final winners, they would also host the grand final.
An added motivation for the Brumbies in their quest to finish second is the fact that only two Super Rugby titles have been won by a team from outside the top two on the ladder.
The Crusaders and the Highlanders won titles in 1999 and 2015, respectively, after finishing the regular season in fourth place.
The Reds and Waratahs both won their titles, in 2011 and 2014, without having to face any New Zealand sides away from home in the finals series. Similarly, the Brumbies did not leave home for the finals during their two title runs in 2001 and 2004.
Australian Super Rugby teams must go where they have never been before, beating a New Zealand side in finals away.Credit: Getty Images
The Reds are guaranteed a finals slot despite losing to the Hurricanes in Brisbane last Friday, with their highest potential finish being fourth place, meaning they face an away fixture for their qualifying final.
To qualify for the last remaining spot in the finals, the Waratahs must get their second win in 97 years against the Blues at Eden Parkand then hope that the Hurricanes defeat Moana Pasifika in Wellington.
If NSW clinch sixth spot on the ladder, they would then take a daunting trip to face either the Crusaders or the Chiefs in New Zealand in the qualifying final.
Waratahs coach Dan McKellar has given tighthead prop Taniela Tupou a second successive start, despite being yellow-carded for a clumsy trip on Force centre Hamish Stewart last Saturday in Perth.
Waratahs and Wallabies legend Matt Burke described the act as “a brain explosion” on Stan Sport’s Between Two Posts.
Jack Bowen is picked to start at five-eighth after an impressive cameo off the bench with halfback Teddy Wilson against the Force.
Wallabies Langi Gleeson and Rob Leota could be playing their final game for the Waratahs, with Tupou’s future still shrouded in mystery amid reported interest from Irish clubs and France’s Section Paloise.
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