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The Brumbies head south faced with a massive task. Breaking the trans-tasman curse New Zealand Super Rugby sides hold over the Australian franchises.
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A win for the Brumbies against the Highlanders would halt the New Zealand sides’ 33-match winning streak over the Australians, which stems back to 2016.
The Brumbies head into the fixture oozing with confidence after their 45-21 win over the Reds last weekend.
The Reds opened up a 15-0 lead and Brumbies responded with seven unanswered tries.
Brumbies head coach Dan McKellar knows all too well that the Highlanders are a totally different beast and has even stated that Australian sides are not respected in New Zealand.
“Currently Australian teams are not respected in New Zealand – so we have to go there and change it,” McKellar said.
“We had a really good week and took confidence out of a win over the Reds, but what we did against the Reds isn’t going to cut it in Dunedin. We have to be better.
“When we look at our recent visits to New Zealand, its never been one-sided, it’s just critical moments in the game where haven’t won.”
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The last time the Brumbies played the Highlanders were in 2013 and the Australians secured a 30-19 win in Round nine – thus, for the mentor, ending the Kiwi dominance is not that far-fetched.
McKellar emphasised the importance of sticking to the plan and to seize the game-changing moments for the positive result.
“New Zealand is intimidating. So is South Africa, that’s just the nature of being on the road.
“This is a real opportunity for us to earn some respect as a club and put a line in the sand, because I think we’re all a little bit sick of talking about the hoodoo that apparently exists,” McKellar revealed.
“Think with the Highlander or any New Zealand side you have to keep them under pressure, make sure you score points and get out of your 22 quickly. Furthermore, you have to take your opportunities.
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“The New Zealand teams play for 80-minutes and in certain points in the game, for example, like if a player gets sin-binned they lift as a group and put you under pressure.
“Think it is just about us getting our plan right and making sure we play for 80-minutes.
“The last time we went to Dunedin was in 2013 and we won well.”
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