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‘Tah Week’: Brumbies players ready themselves for fierce rivals

Noah Lolesio of the Brumbies scores a try during the round 11 Super Rugby Pacific match between Melbourne Rebels and ACT Brumbies at AAMI Park, on May 07, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham says his side’s biggest rivalry remains intact, despite their stunning 11-match winning streak against the NSW Waratahs.

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Leading into Saturday night’s clash at GIO Stadium, Brumbies players have been pushing the importance of beating their local foes and continuing their push up the Super Rugby Pacific table.

The third-ranked side (five wins, one loss) could be excused for overlooking the struggling Waratahs in their final hit-out before a mid-season bye week, but Larkham said their collective mind was on the job at hand.

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“It’s been driven internally by the players,” Larkham said.

“We just know the build-up over the last couple of years has been right for us when we come into ‘Tah Week’, and we’re following the same process.

“The build-up will be pretty big on game day for us for sure … we had obviously a big game against (Queensland) on the weekend.

“Bodies were quite sore and the boys were quite tired. It’s more of a slow build for us this week, but the energy will certainly be there on the weekend.”

The Waratahs, who have lost their past four outings each by less than a converted try, welcome Wallabies star Angus Bell back into the front row after he missed their 27-21 defeat to Melbourne with a back injury.

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While NSW won’t have back-rower Langi Gleeson (concussion), injured Wallabies hooker Dave Porecki or his deputy Mahe Vailanu (knee), the visitors also regain Charlie Gamble and get Lalakai Foketi into the starting side.

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“They’ve been really close in four or five games so far this season, going down to the wire and losing in the last couple of minutes,” Larkham said.

“I’m sure their supporters will think that this is the weekend (that they get a win). I hope they turn up and we get a really good atmosphere and a great game.”

At the Brumbies, balancing squad depth as the side builds into the season is one of the bigger challenges facing Larkham and his staff.

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Nick Frost and Tom Hooper come into the starters after shining off the bench in last weekend’s 20-19 win against the Reds, with Connal McInerney and Jack Debreczeni joining the reserves.

“There’s really a competition, particularly in the second row and back row, so we’re just trying to get a rotation with those guys,” Larkham said.

“We’re making a decision every week based on the opposition as to the best combination we think is going to work for the first 50 minutes and then those guys that come off the bench … and what can they add to the performance in the back-end of the game.

“They’re all going to add something special for that last 20, 25, 30 minutes.”

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JW 1 hour ago
Reds vs Blues: Ex-All Black missed the mark, Lynagh’s Wallabies statement

Agree re Lynagh.


Disagree Beaver got it wrong. Blues made that look easy. It might be a brawn over brains picture though? More in the last point, but, and this may have changed by player selection, the Reds were very lucky this game. Tele’a should not have been red carded as Ryan landed on his shoulder, and both Tate and Jock (was it) should have been yellowed carded for their offenses in stopping tries. We also had a try dissallowed by going back 10 phases in play. We all should have learned after the RWC that that is against the rules. So straight away on this simple decisions alone the result changes to go in the Blues favour, away from home and playing fairly poorly. The sleeping giant if you will. I didn’t agree with the Blues take either tbh, but to flip it around and say it’s the Reds instead is completely inaccurate (though a good side no doubt you have to give them a chance).


And you’re also riding the wave of defense wins matches a bit much. Aside from Dre’s tackling on Rieko I didn’t see anything in that match other than a bit of tiny goal line defending. I think if you role on the tap for another second you see the ball put placed for the try (not that I jump to agree with Eklund purely because he was adamant), and in general those just get scored more often than not. They are doing something good though stopping line breaks even if it is the Blues (and who also got over the line half a dozen times), I did not expect to be greeted with that stat looking at the game.

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