It's not quite the biblical challenge of a camel squeezing through the eye of a needle, but reaching the Super14 finals remains one of team sport's toughest tasks. Fourteen teams, chopped down to just four.
The ACT Brumbies have had a run of near misses since their triumph in 2004 and again this year their finals hopes rest on a knife's edge.
But so do almost everyone's. As the penultimate round of the Super14 kicked off last night, eight teams could reasonably believe they were finals chances.
And only one, the Hurricanes, could be confident they'd survive the scramble.
So how do the Brumbies stack up against the rest?
Attack
Tonight's match pits the most aggressive attacking force in the competition against one with good intentions.
The Auckland Blues have scored 44 tries, compared to the Brumbies' 30.
For the Blues there's attacking weaponry all through the backline in the likes Isaia Toeava, Joe Rokocoko and Anthony Tuitavake.
For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times
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