'Definitely off the back of three losses, the boys are looking at their own games'

Drained after a mentally and physically taxing three-match tour of New Zealand, the Brumbies are hoping their homecoming to Canberra proves the spark that finally ignites their Super Rugby Trans-Tasman campaign.

Successive losses to the Crusaders, Chiefs and Blues have left the Super Rugby AU runners-up languishing in third-last spot above only fellow winless strugglers the NSW Waratahs and Western Force.

The Brumbies host the Hurricanes on Friday night at GIO Stadium and skipper Allan Alaalatoa says his homesick side couldn’t return quick enough to the national capital, even in winter.

How do players from 4 rival countries become teammates | Spirit of Rugby | EP 4 | RugbyPass

How do players from 4 rival countries become teammates | Spirit of Rugby | EP 4 | RugbyPass

“It feels really good, especially to be back at home and in your own bed. It’s been awesome,” Alaalatoa said after Friday’s captain’s run.

“The tour was tough but you come back to normality and everything feels normal again – the way the week goes, the way the boys prepare outside of what they do here at work.

“So it’s been great and the boys have created a great vibe this week and making sure that we’re doing everything we can to make sure we get a win tomorrow.”

After pushing the Crusaders to within two points in their tournament opener, the Brumbies fell away badly in heavy losses to the Chiefs and Blues.

“It was pretty disappointing and the reviews have been honest so all that matters tomorrow is making sure the boys back all that chat up with action,” Alaalatoa said.

“Definitely off the back of three losses, the boys are looking at their own games individually.”

The undefeated Hurricanes are on track to make the final, sitting second behind only the Blues, after finishing last in the Super Rugby Aotearoa competition.

But the Brumbies are quietly confident of springing an upset against a side as capable of leaking points as scoring them, as evident in their 64-48 win over the Waratahs.

“They’re definitely a side with a lot spark, similar to a lot of Kiwi sides. They’ve got a lot of great indivi dual ball carriers, their captain’s back in Ardie (Sa vea), who obviously lifts their team when he’s on the field,” Alaalatoa said.

“But we’ve seen some opportunities which we can explore and we only have a couple of weeks together and we want to finish on a high.”

In Saturday’ s only other game, the winless Waratahs play the Highlanders in Dunedin feeling as hungry as the Brumbies for a breakthrough after also going the entire Super Rugby AU season without posting a victory.