Grand final-winning captain Owen Finegan has revived memories of the ACT's historic first Super Rugby win in Sydney 13 years ago, urging the Brumbies to "rip their hearts out" in Sunday's battle against the NSW Waratahs.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Brumbies have won just two of 14 games in Sydney since Super Rugby began in 1996.
Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham called Finegan into camp during the week to inspire the squad, the former Australian Wallabies flanker recalling how the Brumbies watched footage from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom before their first win in Sydney, a 51-10 belting of the Waratahs in 2002.
The scene depicts a live prisoner having his heart ripped from his chest as a sacrifice.
"Our motivation that week was we wanted to go into their little fortress and we wanted to rip their hearts out," Finegan said. "I spoke about a bit of a history lesson, the love-hate relationship and what it means. Individual battles don't matter, it's a chance to show you're better than them as a team.
"It will be aggressive and ferocious, the hatred comes naturally. It's Waratah week. Historically Sydney isn't an easy place to go and win. But you can't get distracted by the niggle and the physicality, you just have to focus on what you have to do."
The Brumbies have a chance to skip clear in the Australian conference if they can topple the Waratahs. A bonus-point win would put them at least 14 points clear at the top of the Australian table and set them up for a charge into the Super Rugby finals.
"We have certainly started the season well, but we know the challenge this weekend is different. I'm sure there will be niggle," Larkham said.
National spots will be up for grabs, Australian and NSW coach Michael Cheika getting the chance to see World Cup hopefuls go head-to-head.
Brumbies skipper Stephen Moore said he had not spoken to Cheika about potentially reclaiming the Wallabies captaincy later this year.
"You're probably lying if you say you're not thinking about [Wallabies] a little bit," Moore said. "The Waratahs are the best-performing Australian team and that's what we want to measure ourselves against."
Waratahs captain Dave Dennis has imploring teh defending Super Rugby champions to dominate the Brumbies physically.
"I would like to think if you're going up against a guy who potentially you could be up against further down the line [for representative spots] there'd be a bit more sting in the tackle," Dennis said.
Larkham has altered the travel schedule this year in a bid to turn around their losing record on the road, the Brumbies opting not to train at Sydney's Allianz Stadium on the eve of the biggest game of their season.
