ACT Brumbies backs coach Stephen Larkham has dismissed the team's woeful ball control against the Western Force as a ''one-off'' and insists it will not derail its hopes of victory in cold and wet conditions at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.
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And while most view the Brumbies' finals opponents - the Free State Cheetahs - as one of the most attacking teams in the competition, coach Jake White has labelled the South Africans ''conservative''.
The fumbling Brumbies had a horror warm-up to their first finals appearance in nine years when they made 17 handling errors against the Force last weekend. It ruined any hopes the Brumbies had of finishing in the top two and has put them in an elimination final against the Cheetahs.
But Larkham was confident the ACT back line could fire under play-off pressure.
''It was just a one-off [against the Force], we've already spoken about moving forward,'' Larkham said. ''Your form beforehand doesn't matter.
''You can change your mindset quite easily in Super Rugby. We know where we went wrong against the Force, guys have put their hands up in making mistakes. But we got back to our game and will go forward.''
The Cheetahs have spent the past week in Sydney preparing for their first finals berth.
The Bloemfontein-based team is considered one of the most dangerous sides in the competition because of their ability to counter-attack. But White said that was a skewed perception.
''There's this perception, it's funny how it works, that certain teams score a lot of tries and they run from everywhere,'' White said.
''It's not the case at all. I think they are probably one of the most conservative teams in the competition.''
The Cheetahs back-line strike power is backed up by a hard-working back row.
Pieter Labuschagne (261), Heinrich Brussow (205) and Phillip van der Walt (203) are all in the top six for most tackles made this season.
''The Cheetahs have a lot of sevens players in their squad who have played for South Africa, so I've got no doubt they've got that as part of their plan,'' White said.
''I wouldn't say it's expansive or high risk. But when you give them the ball and it's where they want it, they're not scared to have a go.''
Brumbies winger Henry Speight has scored eight tries this season - the third-highest in the competition. But the Brumbies backs did not get a chance to shine against the Force and are determined not to be out-pointed by the Cheetahs.
''It'll be just down to us playing to our patterns and making sure we hold onto the ball and not letting them force any turnovers which they can attack from,'' Speight said.
with AAP
