It’s all on the Brumbies to fly the Aussie flag in the Super Rugby Pacific Semi Finals this weekend, with the boys from Canberra the lone remaining side from this side of the Tasman.
Travelling to Auckland to face the minor premiers, the Blues will be no easy task though and there will be plenty of obstacles for them to overcome on Saturday evening.
In the other Semi Final, the Chiefs head to Christchurch to face the Crusaders in a game that promises plenty of fireworks.
Read on for our Super Rugby Pacific Semi Finals tips.
As we have said all season long, these just aren’t the same old Crusaders who destroyed all challengers without breaking a sweat.
That being said this is still a pretty damn good version of the Crusaders and in what will be Scott Robertson’s 100th game in charge, they won’t want to let their coach down.
After all they still have plenty to play for, for starters knowing that they would host the Grand Final in the unlikely event of a Brumbies upset win.
They have won their last six games all by double digits and the Chiefs have shown some vulnerabilities in the last few weeks.
It’s showing a bit of faith in the Crusaders but I’ll back them to win and cover the line.
It’s been a pretty good season for the Brumbies, finishing in fourth place overall and winning a home Quarter Final, but I just can’t see them getting by this Blues team.
After all, the Blues only needed to play well for 50 minutes last week to beat the Highlanders by 29 points.
However when these sides met in Canberra last month, the Brumbies gave them a real run for their money and only went down 21-19 after a very late drop goal.
While I do like the Blues to win, I can’t ignore the resiliency this Brumbies side has shown all season long and I have to think they will at least have a shot when the clock ticks past 80 minutes.