By Nick Mulvenney, Reuters
The Queensland Reds and the ACT Brumbies are trying to end the stranglehold of New Zealand teams on Super Rugby Pacific. Photo: Photosport
The ACT Brumbies and Queensland Reds have carried the heaviest loads to fire Australia's Super Rugby revival this year and Saturday's round 14 clash will decide which of them has the best shot at breaking New Zealand's stranglehold on the top two.
A top-two finish in the regular-season standings guarantees home advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs, an edge that no team from outside New Zealand has enjoyed in the three years of Super Rugby Pacific.
The Canberra-based Brumbies know to their cost how big of an advantage it is, having got through the opening round of the playoffs in all three seasons only to bow out at the semi-final stage on the other side of the Tasman Sea.
With the competition-leading Chiefs on a bye, the Brumbies will go top on Saturday if they can overcome the fourth-placed Reds in the Australian capital.
"Currently the two best Australian teams going at it and an important game for us," Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham said after naming his team.
"The Reds are sitting comfortably in the top six but, like us, would like to finish high in the ladder as it gives you the best opportunity to go well into the finals."
Both teams will have backups at first-five after Brumbies pivot Noah Lolesio and Reds playmaker Tom Lynagh suffered concussions last weekend, but it may be absences in the forwards that have a bigger impact.
While the Brumbies are also without in-form flanker Luke Reimer (concussion), the Reds have added locks Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (shoulder) and Seru Uru (knee) to a casualty list already featuring Wallabies skipper Harry Wilson.
A slip-up by the Brumbies would allow the 12-times champion Canterbury Crusaders to move into the top two but only if they can snap a two-match losing streak against the New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney on Friday.
Absences also loom large over this fixture with the home side's marquee signing Joseph Suaalii ruled out for a month by a jaw injury and the Crusaders without world-class fullback Will Jordan and All Blacks captain Scott Barrett.
"We need to be good over there," said Crusaders coach Rob Penney, who was sacked by the Waratahs in 2021.
"The Waratahs are dangerous at home because they love the challenge of playing one of the best teams in the world, and they consistently get up for that game."
Moana Pasifika play the Blues this weekend. Photo: Photosport
Revivals
The Hurricanes and Blues topped the regular standings last year and both will be out to continue their late-season revivals after poor starts to the campaign.
The sixth-placed Hurricanes are aiming for a third straight win to cement their place in the playoff spots when they host the Highlanders on Friday night.
The reigning champion Blues, who have moved up to fifth on the back of two successive wins, make the short trip across Auckland to face Ardie Savea's seventh-placed Moana Pasifika on Saturday.
Moana, coming off a bye, notched their fifth win of the season with a last-gasp victory over the Highlanders two weeks ago and will be out to record consecutive wins over New Zealand opposition for the first time. Saturday's opening match pitches Western Force, who are ninth but only four points off the playoff spots, against bottom club Fijian Drua in Lautoka.
-Reuters
