Larkham admits he's feeling the pressure of the Brumbies' fight to stay in the Super Rugby finals race, which continues with a season-defining clash against the Cape Town Stormers on Sunday morning.

But the squad is united in the belief that Larkham's experience and knowledge can guide the Brumbies out of a form slump and into title contention in the coming weeks. The Brumbies have lost four of their past six games and hold a one-point lead at the top of the Australian conference.

They are in danger of missing the finals for the first time since 2012 and need to win both games of their tour of South Africa to ensure they don't slip down the rankings. Larkham is in his first year as sole head coach, having shared the duties last season with Laurie Fisher.

"We've been in every contest of the last six games, it's up to us as a playing group to take the opportunities we're creating," said flyhalf Christian Lealiifano.

"I wouldn't see it as any extra pressure on the coach. Bernie [Larkham] is doing a fantastic job and as soon we get a few more good results, we'll get out of this. We're not that far off. Bernie has stuck to his guns, he trusts the system and we know it works. We can see it in our review, we're just not executing at the moment. The strength of our group is standing by each other."

The Brumbies haven't won two games on a South African tour since 2007.

The NSW Waratahs are waiting to strike in second place in the Australian conference and have a game in hand in the last six weeks of the season. But after suffering four heartbreaking losses by five points or less this year, the Brumbies are confident they can turn tight defeats into crucial wins.

"I guess like everyone else I feel pressure, this past month has been disappointing. We're trying to step it up, so feeling the pressure is dotting the i's and crossing the t's," Larkham said.

"When the squeeze comes on and it comes down to a big game, you've got to make sure the prep is right. Some games we've lost have come down to losing by a handful of points, we don't have to change too much. It hasn't been catastrophic.

"You have to make sure you don't panic. Yes, we've had losses and we want to get our season back on track. But by having a good performance this weekend you do that."

Scrumhalf Nic White and lock Rory Arnold have been brought back into the starting team after overcoming their battles with injury.

Newlands is one of the most daunting venues in Super Rugby and the Brumbies haven't won in Cape Town since 2010. But Lealiifano said the players were ready for the challenge and would embrace the hostile environment.

"We're looking to bounce back and keep our season alive, it starts against the Stormers," Lealiifano said. "It's going to be tough, we're well aware of that. We're going to have to be at our peak if we want to get a result."

SUPER RUGBY Round 13

Sunday: Cape Town Stormers v ACT Brumbies at Newlands, 1.05am. TV time: Live on Fox Sports 2.

Brumbies team: 15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Robbie Coleman, 11 Joseph Tomane, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Nic White, 8 Ita Vaea, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Jean-Pierre Smith. Reserves: 16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 Allan Alaalatoa, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Jordan Smiler, 20 Jarrad Butler, 21 Michael Dowsett, 22 Nigel Ah Wong, 23 James Dargaville.