Stephen Larkham ‘not looking forward’ to Super Rugby Pacific start but keen to take Brumbies to next level
Stephen Larkham during a training session.
Brumbies head coach Stephen Larkham has revealed that he hopes to take his team to the next level as they start their preparations for the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific campaign.
Larkham recently signed a two-year contract extension with the Brumbies and under his guidance the Canberra-based outfit have been the dominant force in Australian rugby.
The former Wallabies fly-half has guided the Brumbies to back-to-back Super Rugby Pacific semi-finals and is still hurting after this year’s exit at the last-four stage of that competition to eventual champions the Blues.
The Brumbies finished the regular season in third position in the standings but had the same number of victories as the Hurricanes and Blues – the two clubs who were above them on the regular season table.
Still hurting after Blues and Chiefs losses
However, it’s the losses to the Blues and Chiefs in the league phase of the competition which is still hurting.
“Our performance in those two games against the Blues and the Chiefs in the round games was somewhat embarrassing. Certainly very disappointing,” Larkham told reporters.
“I thought we started to peak at the right time so everything was coming together at the back end of the season with a good performance against the Highlanders, but then too many mistakes against the Blues in the semi-final (cost us) so the challenge for us is the same we faced over the last couple of years.
“Two losses to the teams in the final gives us an indication of where we were but it was still a very successful season in terms of the quality of players we’ve brought into the program, new coaches and continuity with the group going into this season.
“But we know that as a Brumbies outfit, we are always searching for a finals representation and ideally we are lifting that trophy above our heads.”
The Brumbies won’t have to wait long to exact revenge as they are set to face the Chiefs and Blues in round three and four of the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific campaign.
Ahead of those matches, the men from Canberra kick off their campaign against the Fijian Drua in Suva on February 15, before they face off against Australian rivals the Western Force at home in Round Two.
“We circle the Fiji game first, that’s going to be played over there in February in significant heat and humidity and whilst we get the heat in Canberra, we don’t get that humidity,” Larkham added.
‘Spoken about the challenge’
“We’ve already spoken about that as coaches. We’ve spoken about the challenge that we’re going to face and what we can do in pre-season to prepare ourselves for the game over there.
“(Drua) are very good at home and I think conditions play a big part in that so hopefully our pre-season and planning will mitigate most of those issues and it just comes down to our performances on the field.
“It’s a pretty tough start to the season. The season starts a week earlier, so it will be a bit hotter playing in Fiji, and then two games playing in New Zealand in the first four rounds is a challenge for us so we’re not looking forward to that.”
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