Super Rugby Review: Brumbies
With the Super Rugby semi-finalists now decided we take a look at those teams to fall at the quarter-final stage. First up it's the Brumbies.
The Brumbies opened their campaign with successive losses to the Crusaders and Sharks before bouncing back with back-to-back victories over the Force and Waratahs. They then lost to the Highlanders before beating the Reds.
What followed was an alarming mid-season slump in which they lost four on the bounce to the Rebels, Hurricanes, Blues and Lions. However, they recovered with three wins in a row against the Kings, Jaguares and Rebels before back-to-back losses against the Reds and Chiefs.
And finally, they put up their best performance of the season against the Hurricanes in the quarter-final with the final result of 35-16 flattering the defending champions.
The Brumbies were written off at the beginning of the year, with some saying they would finish fourth in the Australian conference. However, they proved the critics wrong by finishing top of the Australian Conference.
Coach Stephen Larkham will now join the Wallabies as full-time assistant coach with Brumbies assistant coach Dan McKellar stepping up to the top job to be assisted by Laurie Fisher next season.
The Brumbies had the fourth-most stubborn defence this season, conceding just 32 tries and were the most effective tacklers in the competition, boasting a tackle success rate of 86 percent in this year's campaign.
However, the tries were not as free-flowing as they would have liked. More players needed to chip in with tries as they were overly dependent on Henry Speight and Tevita Kuridrani for their scores.
The Canberra outfit would have missed Christian Lealifano greatly this season as the influential playmaker was recovering from leukemia, only making his comeback as a half-time replacement in the quarter-final. Wharenui Hawera stepped up bravely but could not exercise the same control over matches.
On a positive note, players like Allan Alaalatoa and Henry Speight greatly enhanced their reputations.
It was an extremely disappointing season for Australian rugby as a whole. But luckily for the Brumbies, the Super Rugby format allowed them to make the playoffs while the Blues, for example, won more games yet finished bottom of their conference and were nowhere near making the quarters. Something that the Super Rugby bosses need to look at closely.
Best player: The best prop in this season's competition was undoubtedly Brumbies tighthead Allan Alaalatoa. Alaalatoa is the archetypal modern-day prop, effective in loose play, mobile and hard-working. He tops the statistics for most metres made by any prop in this season's competition and is a dynamic carrier of the ball.