ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham has urged his players to transform their Super Rugby heartbreak into motivation as he begins plotting a redemption mission in 2017.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But the Brumbies' leader is yet to finalise a decision on his own coaching future after continuing talks with the club and the ARU in the past week as he weighs up a Wallabies assistant role or staying in the ACT.
Timing is set to be a major factor in Larkham's final decision given the Brumbies would have limited time to find a replacement and the club is still without a permanent chief executive.
He will not continue to live a double life for the Brumbies and Wallabies and will make a call in the coming weeks on which one will he will commit to.
One option being mooted is for Larkham to re-sign with the Brumbies for the next 12 months before shifting into a Wallabies role leading into the World Cup.
Larkham and seven Brumbies will join the Wallabies in camp on Sunday, with Larkham resuming his role as coach Michael Cheika's right-hand man until the end of the year.
But he spent the past week meeting with players to discuss their devastating and controversial exit from the Super Rugby finals race and says they must find a better balance to chase a championship.
Departing Brumbies co-captain Stephen Moore believes the club must find stability to win its first title since 2004.
WHAT WENT WRONG
The Brumbies finished at the top of the Australian conference for the first time since a competition overhaul in 2011 and completed a clean sweep against Australian rivals.
They started the season with a bang, smashing the Wellington Hurricanes in a seven-try round-one romp.
However, their failure to fire against the rest of their New Zealand opponents put a major dent in their title aspirations and saw them bundled out in the first week of the finals.
The Brumbies lost five games to New Zealand teams – four in the regular season and the quarter final against the Otago Highlanders – for a combined for and against of 166-71.
"When you look back there were times in the season we didn't play as well as we wanted to," Moore said.
"That's the way it goes and the teams that are left in the competition deserve to be there. It's disappointing we didn't do better and achieve we wanted to, but we have to accept that and move on.
"The home games we lost to the Kiwi sides were particularly disappointing, they were big games and you need to make sure you make the most of the ones at home.
"You have to move forward quickly, be resilient and be better."
DID THE ATTACKING REVOLUTION WORK?
Larkham admits the Brumbies didn't find the right balance in their game as they tried to implement new attacking structures to become an attractive team to watch.
The NSW Waratahs are regarded as Australia's best attacking team, but the Brumbies scored 56 tries compared to the Waratahs' 55.
It was a massive improvement on the 45 tries the Brumbies scored last year and was the most tries they had scored in a season since the Super Rugby revamp.
However, the biggest change was in their defence, leaking 326 points compared to the 261 conceded in 2015.
"We need that balance in the pre-season between attack and defence," Larkham said.
"You only have to look at those New Zealand games and the scores blew out, so that's an area we really need to look out with our defence.
"There's still a lot of room for improvement with our attack, we know we can take it to a different level next year."
DEALING WITH CHANGE
Some of the Brumbies' most influential leaders have finished their tenure in the capital, with Moore joining the Queensland Reds, David Pocock taking a sabbatical, Matt Toomua linking with Leicester and Joseph Tomane moving to France.
The turnover of players isn't the biggest it's been the club's history.
But the calibre of players moving on will leave some massive holes in the roster for the 2017 campaign.
"It's an easy thing to talk about, but it's not always the most important thing," Moore said.
"It's what you do into the future ... from top to bottom that's important at the Brumbies on and off the field.
"There's no doubt the club needs an element of stability there and we've certainly had a lot of change over the past season or two. So stability is crucial to planning what the future looks like."
The Brumbies are still working to secure Kyle Godwin and Anthony Faingaa while Saia Faingaa and Chris Alcock have committed to deals in the capital.
THE WAY FORWARD
The Brumbies dealt with off-field controversy this year, with chief executive Michael Jones agreeing to a payout to leave his post.
The club is yet to appoint a permanent successor and will likely report an end-of-year loss in the coming months.
Larkham's future looms as a key cog in taking the Brumbies forward and the coach is adamant the foundations are in place for success regardless of personnel.
"There's real excitement at the moment so 100 per cent we can be better," Larkham said.
"We were bitterly disappointed with the way it all ended this year, but we've already started plotting what we need to do better and differently."
BRUMBIES CHANGES
Departing: Stephen Moore (Queensland), David Pocock (sabbatical), Matt Toomua (Leicester), Joseph Tomane(Montpellier), Michael Wells (NSW Waratahs), Michael Dowsett (TBA), Ita Vaea (retired), Albert Anae (Japan), Tyrel Lomax (Melbourne).
Incoming: Saia Faingaa (Queensland), Chris Alcock (Western Force), Lolo Fakaosilea (Queensland), Jordan Jackson-Hope (Canberra), Ben Hyne (Tuggeranong), Ryan Lonergan (Tuggeranong), Robert Valetini (Melbourne).
On the radar: Kyle Godwin (Western Force), Anthony Faingaa (Queensland).
BRUMBIES RESULTS
Rd 1: Brumbies 52 bt Hurricanes 10 in Canberra
Rd 2: Brumbies 32 bt Waratahs 15 in Canberra
Rd 3: Brumbies 31 bt Force in Perth
Rd 4: Brumbies 11 lost to Stormers 31 in Cape Town
Rd 5: Brumbies 25 bt Cheetahs 18 in Bloemfontein
Rd 6: Brumbies 23 lost to Chiefs 48 in Canberra
Rd 8: Brumbies 26 bt Waratahs 20 in Sydney
Rd 9: Brumbies 14 lost to Crusaders 40 in Canberra
Rd 10: Brumbies 10 lost to Highlanders 23 in Invercargill
Rd 11: Brumbies 23 bt Bulls 26 in Canberra
Rd 12: Brumbies 30 bt Rebels 22 in Melbourne
Rd 14: Brumbies 66 bt Sunwolves 5 in Canberra
Rd 15: Brumbies 43 bt Reds 24 in Canberra
Rd 16: Brumbies 15 lost to Blues 40 in Auckland
Rd 17: Brumbies 24 bt Force 10 in Canberra
Quarter final: Brumbies 9 lost to Highlanders 15 in Canberra
