Waratahs admit they need Brumbies to stumble

Waratahs head coach Daryl Gibson has admitted that his side will need the Brumbies to slip up in order to top the Australian Conference.

After the Brumbies’ bonus-point win over the Jaguares they hold a nine-point advantage at the top of the Aussie Conference, with no other Australian sides in position for the wildcard places.

Only three games remain in the regular season, with Gibson knowing that the 2014 champions require a lot of luck to turn things around.

“It certainly relies on the Brumbies tripping up somewhere,” Gibson told The Canberra Times.

“The destiny is in their hands, they’ve earned two good victories away from home and they deserve to be where they are.”

Gibson also provided an update on scrum-half Nick Phipps after his withdrawal in the Waratahs’ defeat to the Highlanders earlier on Saturday.

Phipps’ replacement, youngster Jake Gordon, came on to score two tries as the Waratahs fell short in Dunedin.

“He’s due for an X-ray on Monday at this stage and we’re not sure whether that is going to be a week-long injury or longer,” Gibson added.

“At the moment he’s walking around pretty freely. I don’t think he’ll be out for long, if at all.

“I was really pleased with Nick. I thought he was fast to the ball and gave excellent service. The speed of the game was good and then Jake came on and added some real impact and got the rewards from that.”