The Brumbies’ stirring 36-34 Super Rugby loss to the Bulls will provide extra motivation when they play the Lions this week, coach Jake White suggests.
White’s young squad came close to pulling off the upset of the season at the weekend when they gave the powerhouse Bulls a big scare on their home ground, Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
They repeatedly split open the Bulls’ bruising defence in a five-tries-to-two performance which also had them achieve a rare feat at the Pretoria fortress – two bonus points.
Despite their heroics – which keep them clinging to top spot on the Australian conference – White said the loss itself will be enough to drive them forward.
“It still feels like a loss,” White told AAP.
“One thing I’m really proud of the boys is they’re not walking around like they got a win.
“They feel gutted.
“They’re not going to accept the fact that they lost narrowly.”
The Brumbies face the far less daunting Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday, which will be week three of White’s proclaimed “make or break” month.
It started against the Rebels in round seven, a heavy 37-6 victory, and will finish when the Brumbies clash with the NSW Waratahs in Sydney in a fortnight.
White has told his troops to push hard. A bye after that will allow them to assess whether their 2012 finals hopes are legitimate or not.
“It is make or break,” the World Cup-winning coach said.
“If we win these games, we give ourselves a fair chance when the bye comes to regroup and keep the momentum going.”
Now 1-1 after the Bulls match, White is adamant that only a win will do against John Mitchell’s Lions.
“We’ve got to regroup and do our homework and play whatever we need to play in order to get a result.
“We have to make sure we win that game.”
Skipper Ben Mowen is expected to be right despite hurting his neck against the Bulls.