We can make finals: Ashley-Cooper
0
John-Paul Moloney, Canberra Times | May 4, 2009 - 2:30PM
The ACT Brumbies nursed the Rod Macqueen Cup all the way home from Brisbane to Canberra yesterday morning.
And after Saturday's 52-13 win against the Queensland Reds, they have begun dreaming of bringing home more important silverware, namely the Super 14 trophy.
Having been laid out by the Wellington Hurricanes a week ago, the Brumbies are now back on their feet and talking optimistically of a first finals appearance since 2004.
Winger Adam Ashley-Cooper said the squad was buoyed by its fourth bonus-point win of the year. He believed the mission of beating the Auckland Blues and Waikato Chiefs in the last two rounds was very achievable.
"Everyone's really excited about our semi-final prospects and hopefully a final," Ashley-Cooper said. "We've always played well against the Blues at home and we're looking forward to playing in front of our crowd and then hopefully going over to New Zealand to chase another win."
It's not quite true that the Brumbies have always done well at home against the Blues. The record at Canberra Stadium stands at three wins apiece.
The Brumbies can take some confidence into the match having seen the Blues lose their past two matches, against the Reds and the Hurricanes.
The flipside is that the Blues will never have been more desperate, knowing they need two bonus-point wins to have any hope of a finals berth.
The Brumbies' finals hopes hang on them not just beating the Blues at Canberra Stadium and the Chiefs in Hamilton but also securing at least one bonus point.
With eight teams still in finals contention, there are still many possibilities for the make-up of the top four. But it seems likely 41 competition points will be the bar to clear.
Probably the Brumbies' best hope of securing a bonus point will be against the Blues, whose own need to score four tries could open them up defensively.
The Blues have scored four tries or more in eight matches this season for a remarkable 11 bonus points, leading to Ashley-Cooper predicting a "cracking-paced game".
Assuming the Brumbies take nine points from the last two games and other matches go to form, much could come down to the final match of the regular season between the Durban Sharks and Pretoria Bulls.
If the Bulls were to win that match at Durban, the Sharks would likely miss the finals, allowing the Canterbury Crusaders and Brumbies to take third and fourth spots behind the Hurricanes and Bulls. But if the Sharks win and secure a home semi, the Brumbies could be jostling with the Canterbury Crusaders and Bulls for the final two spots.
While they clawed back 39 points against the Reds, the Brumbies still have a negative points differential, which is used to break any ties for position.
The Brumbies have a clean bill of health going into the Blues match, unlike the Reds who suffered injuries to seven players before or during Saturday's match.
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/n...289088315.html
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by mudskipper
Well they also had a dominate win over another mid table team the Force….
