Brumbies lock Sam Carter says his side will unbottle lingering resentment for the Blues on Saturday night to exact payback for ending their 2012 Super Rugby campaign.
The Brumbies were all but assured a finals berth last season until they were comprehensively beaten by a surprise-packet Blues outfit in the final round, and the Queensland Reds claimed a bonus-point victory to pip them for the spot.
But a win for the Brumbies in Auckland will serve as the perfect dish of cold revenge as the sixth-placed Blues face an extremely challenging run towards the finals with a two-week tour of South Africa and then a final-round match against the table-topping Chiefs.
“It was a very poor way to finish the season as we were kind of planning on hopefully getting a home final,” Carter said.
“A lot of the guys are holding onto resentment for that match so hopefully we can bottle that and bring it out for the game this weekend.”
Carter, 23, admits he will face a huge challenge this weekend when he lines up opposite stalwart Blues second-rower Ali Williams.
“He’s played so many Tests for the All Blacks and he’s been around for a long time. He’s a very experienced player and it’s going to be quite a challenge for me and Scott (Fardy) to go up against him,” Carter said.
Blindside flanker Peter Kimlin echoed Carter’s statements, saying last year’s loss to the Blues still hurt.
“It was disappointing. We underestimated them. They were a great side and we went in there thinking we were going to play finals,” he said.
“We’ll just try to rectify that this weekend.”
Having never played finals footy throughout his seven-year Super Rugby career, Kimlin says he’s determined to do so before leaving the Brumbies next year to join French club Grenoble.
“It hasn’t really hit home that I’m leaving,” he said.
“But with my last year here, it makes you want to play that extra bit more.”


