Stormers coach Allister Coetzee rates the set piece of the ACT Brumbies among the elite in all of Super Rugby as their scrum and line-out continues to set the benchmark.
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The Brumbies took all they could handle from the Stormers before grinding out a crucial 25-15 victory at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night.
The match developed into a dour battle of the opposing forward packs, neither wanting to give an inch and concede ground to the other.
The Stormers made the running early in the collisions and in the scrums before the Brumbies gained the upper hand in the second half, capped off with a well-deserved penalty try in the 80th minute.
Winning the battle in the forwards is what the Brumbies have based their game plan on over the past three seasons on their way to reaching last year's grand final.
They have started this season in similar vein, winning four of their first five games to sit atop the Australian conference.
Coetzee said the Brumbies' powerful forward pack proved to be the difference in a game in which the Stormers had plenty of chances to grab their second win of the season.
"That last scrum in particular was very dominant,'' Coetzee said.
"Their set piece in general is right up there, I'd say it's one of the best.
"Not just on the ball, but also defensively.''
The Brumbies were forced through injuries to make several changes to their forward pack.
Loose-head prop Jean-Pierre Smith was impressive in his starting debut, flanker Jack Whetton received his first Super Rugby cap off the bench and loose forward Lachlan McCaffrey replaced Jarrad Butler (concussion) at half-time.
Brumbies captain Ben Mowen said the set piece was an area the team took immense pride in.
"As a forward pack that's the foundation of our game,'' Mowen said.
''We have to be performing in set piece and the little work that goes around that as well.
"We knew they wanted access through the game through the maul and we had to deny that early and we did that reasonably well.''
Mowen was especially pleased with how the Brumbies responded once the Stormers challenged them in the first half.
"We weren't happy with the way we scrummed early on, the Stormers definitely got the best of us early on and caught us a little bit flat in that area,'' he said.
