Brumbies not getting carried away by emphatic Super Rugby start / Photo: Sanka VIDANAGAMA - AFP
Brumbies not getting carried away by emphatic Super Rugby start
ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham insists his team is not getting carried away with their unbeaten start to the Super Rugby season including snapping a 26-year winless drought in Christchurch.
The Canberra-based side emphatically crushed the defending champions Canterbury Crusaders 50–24 last week to end a losing streak in the New Zealand city that stretched 12 games.
It followed a similarly dominant bonus-point win to open their season against Western Force to leave them top of the standings, racking up 106 points from two games.
Larkham has named an unchanged line-up spearheaded by veteran James Slipper for a third straight week to face the Auckland Blues at home on Saturday and said there would be no complacency.
"Like the first round, where the score was very favourable against the Force, 50 points in any game is a good result," he said. "But we're not getting carried away with ourselves. It's the second round of the competition.
"The Crusaders defence is renowned for being very good over the last couple of years. The same with the Blues, they had the best defensive record in the competition last year so we'll be facing a very similar picture this weekend."
The Blues are backing up from a gritty 42-32 defeat of Western Force in Perth, which followed a narrow loss in their their opening game at home to the Waikato Chiefs.
"The Brumbies are well-organised and have started their season well. They will be tough competitors, particularly at home, but we are up for the challenge," said coach Vern Cotter.
"Winning collisions and staying in the game for 80 minutes is key for us. We've shown improvements across the first two weeks and I think we can go a lot further."
Cotter, who will take over from incoming Wallabies coach Les Kiss at the Queensland Reds next season, has reshuffled his front row with Joshua Fusitu'a ruled out with an elbow injury.
Ofa Tu'ungafasi moves to loosehead prop while Kurt Eklund comes in at hooker, and lock Sam Darry returns to the starting XV after missing last week's match following a head knock.
The backline remains unchanged for the third straight game.
P.Ortiz--RTC
