The Brumbies took the first step in reigniting their season when they beat the Pretoria Bulls 23-6 on Friday night to jump two points ahead of the Melbourne Rebels.

It sets up a massive clash between the Brumbies and Rebels in Melbourne this week as the rivals compete for Australia's guaranteed play-off berth.

The NSW Waratahs are also in contention and losing to either the Rebels or the Japan Sunwolves would be a major blow to the Brumbies' hopes of chasing a drought-breaking title.

Australian Wallabies selection chances will also go on the line as Test coach Michael Cheika searches for combinations to play in the three-match series against England in June.

The Rebels shocked the Brumbies last year with a tight 13-8 win in Canberra that almost torpedoed the Brumbies' finals mission.

"Every game for us now is massive, particularly before the June series [against England]," Moore said.

"We've got two games before that break and they're both critical. The Rebels have played really well this year, they're a well organised side and very clear about how they want to play.

"They're very strong physically, it's going to be a good battle. You always look forward to these Australian games."

The Brumbies were far from their best in a 17-point win against the Bulls, scoring two tries and Christian Lealiifano booting 13 points to end six weeks of indifferent form.

The Brumbies had lost four of their past six matches going into the Bulls clash and they haven't won back-to-back games since the opening three rounds of the season.

Argentina livewire scrumhalf Tomas Cubelli had one of his best games since moving to Canberra this year and he could be the spark the Brumbies need.

Cubelli has been given a licence to chance his arm whenever he sees an opportunity, and coach Stephen Larkham has challenged the rest of the team to react when Cubelli darts off.

Cubelli took a quick tap close to the line late in the second half against the Bulls in a situation in which the Brumbies would have regularly opted to set up an attacking lineout.

Three phases later Cubelli fooled the defence and got across the line to ensure the Brumbies won.

"I thought he was really good, he threatened around the ruck and his work rate is massive. Bernie [Larkham] has given him the licence to take those quick taps if he sees a chance," Moore said.

"That was an example [on Friday night], he goes for it and keeps the pace of the game going."

Larkham said: "I don't think we've been in a hole, I actually think we played better last week even though we lost and the effort has always been there.

"What we saw from Tomas is something we've been trying to work on for a while – reacting to Tomas' game a bit better. He brings a different element to the team."

Larkham will continue to manage the workload of his players in anticipation of losing a major chunk of the squad to the England series. The rest of the Brumbies will play in a 10s tournament in Mauritius.

Moore, who is also the Wallabies captain, missed the loss to the Otago Highlanders two weeks ago with a calf injury.

"I did feel fresh, I felt good all week and I guess that's something the coaches manage all through the season," Moore said.

"That's one of the challenges of the season, and every team faces it, making sure you've constantly got all of your players fresh and playing at their best. I felt good."