White sees Reds at McKenzie's claim Brumbies lead penalty stats

Coaches Jake White and Ewen McKenzie have engaged in a pre-match stats exchange with the top spot in the Australian conference up for grabs.

And after Reds mentor McKenzie used his Fairfax Media column to alert everyone the Brumbies were the most penalised team in Super Rugby and constantly slowed the ball down at the breakdown, White hit back.

The Brumbies coach arrived at his team announcement armed with penalty statistics for every team in the competition and handed them to the media on Thursday.

It was the latest exchange in what are becoming two of the biggest rivalries in Australian rugby - the Brumbies v the Reds and White v McKenzie. There was no malice from either coach. Just two leaders determined to get their point across ahead of a blockbuster match.

White avoided throwing verbal barbs at McKenzie and the Reds.

But he was determined to point out that the Reds were not penalty saints and said McKenzie was pointing out the Brumbies' work at the breakdown to give playmakers Will Genia and Quade Cooper more room to move.

''You can make stats look any way you want,'' White said. ''I don't know if it's cynical tactics aimed at the referee, but I think [McKenzie] is making a blatantly obvious statement that Genia and Cooper need more time and space to perform.

''The bottom line is [McKenzie] is wrong. The Chiefs aren't second [in the penalty count], the Reds are second. The thing that's most concerning is that the Reds have conceded double the amount of penalties [than the Brumbies] for foul play.''

The Brumbies are the most penalised team in the competition, conceding 93 penalties this season.

They do not shy away from that statistic. But the Reds have conceded 86 penalties in their eight matches, including 14 for foul play - the most of any team in the competition.

The Reds later released a separate set of statistics which were different to those White handed out.

McKenzie used his column to state that ''mucks'' were slowing the ball at the breakdown and statistics showed the Brumbies and the defending champion Chiefs were the teams committing the most infringements.

The Reds beat the Chiefs last weekend and McKenzie described the stint against the competition winners of last season and the Brumbies as a ''treacherous stretch''.

It sets the tone for a blockbuster match at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.

White and McKenzie do not hold back when it comes to defending their teams. They have developed an intense one-on-one rivalry since White arrived in Australia to lead a Brumbies revival.

The South African says he respects McKenzie and the job he has done with the Reds. But there is little doubt they ruffle each other's feathers.

The Reds beat the Brumbies twice last season and stole a play-off spot in the last round.

The Brumbies are challenging the Reds for their mantle as the best Australian team and landed the first blow with a round-one win at Canberra Stadium in February.

Both coaches will deflect the attention to ensure their players focus on the match, not the off-field banter.

Traditionally the Brumbies have saved their hatred for the NSW Waratahs. But they have dubbed this week ''Reds Week'' and want to prove a point against the dominant Australian team of the past three seasons.

''You can look at statistics in various ways,'' White said. ''There's no distraction at all … this is just an answer to [McKenzie's] statement in the newspaper. We know exactly what our strengths and weaknesses are and we know the game we want to play.

''Statistics can either assist you or benefit you and at this time they're assisting us in making sure we get our game right. I'd like to think referees at this level would see through things and not read too much into what's in the media. There's so much to be played for … there's a proud history at the clubs.''