JOHANNESBURG: The ACT Brumbies are refusing to buy into a 'post Jake White curse' in South Africa, adamant they can break a two-year drought in the country to keep their Super Rugby playoff hopes alive.
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The Brumbies haven't won in South Africa since White, the 2007 World Cup-winning Springboks coach, quit the club after the 2013 grand final.
The Brumbies have failed to win outside Australia this season, winning just one of seven games in New Zealand or South Africa in the past two years.
But defiant Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham said the team's form abroad had improved this year, losing all three international games by three points or less.
"Our performances overseas this year compared to last year have been infinitely better, we've just been unlucky," Larkham said.
"We've been beaten on the bell or by goal-kicks. Maybe we have to redefine what we mean by having a better away record.
"You have to win away from home to get to the finals, we know how important it is. But it's not focused on where we are, it's focused on playing as well as we can."
Going into this weekend's round, the Brumbies (33 points) sat just ahead of the NSW Waratahs (32 points) and Melbourne Rebels (29 points). A loss to the Johannesburg Lions at Ellis Park on Sunday could see the Brumbies tumble from third on the table to 10th.
During White's coaching stint in Canberra, between 2012-13, the Brumbies won three of their five games in South Africa. But the club's form on the road has been poor since his departure.
One of the challenges of winning in South Africa is recovering from jet lag and adjusting to the conditions at more than 1700 metres above sea level.
"We don't speak about where we're playing, we need to win this game full stop," Brumbies captain Stephen Moore said. "The message this week has been about winning. Most of the games now [remaining in the season] are like grand finals.
"If you don't win you'll put yourself in a precarious position in terms of finals. We're in a position where we have to win this game, it doesn't matter if it's in South Africa, New Zealand or Canberra.
"We need to keep winning to make the finals, there are a bunch of teams in the same situation.
"In five weeks' time when the finals begin there will be a group of teams sitting outside the top six saying 'these are the games that cost us'. If we're good enough in the next month, we won't be in that group."
The Brumbies have made just two changes to their side, Matt Toomua returning at inside centre and rookie prop Allan Alaalatoa thrust into the scrum.
Larkham said Toomua's late arrival in South Africa gave the team a boost after the Wallabies playmaker overcame an ankle injury to join the tour.
"He's certainly an aggressive ball-runner and he adds that voice in the outside challenge," Larkham said.
"With Christian [Lealiifano] staying at flyhalf, in my eyes it was a cleaner transition. We'll reassess it after this week, but Toomua has been very energetic and adds a spark this week."
SUPER RUGBY ROUND 14
Sunday: Johannesburg Lions v ACT Brumbies at Ellis Park, 1.05am Australian time. TV time: Live on Fox Sports 2.
Brumbies team: 15. Jesse Mogg, 14. Henry Speight, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Matt Toomua, 11. JosephTomane, 10. Christian Lealiifano, 9. Nic White, 8. Ita Vaea, 7. David Pocock, 6. Scott Fardy, 5. Rory Arnold, 4. Sam Carter, 3. Ben Alexander, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Allan Alaalatoa. Reserves: 16. Josh Mann-Rea, 17. Jean-Pierre Smith, 18. Ruan Smith, 19. Jordan Smiler, 20. Jarrad Butler, 21. Michael Dowsett, 22. Robbie Coleman, 23. James Dargaville.
