The ACT Brumbies will find out on Monday if winger Joseph Tomane will be fit enough to play in their must-win final regular season Super Rugby game next weekend.
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The Brumbies are remaining positive that Tomane hasn't played his last game for the club after he hurt his knee in his comeback from a 10-week injury in Canberra's club competition on Saturday.
The Brumbies face a simple scenario to keep their championship dream alive when they play the Western Force on Saturday night.
If they beat the Force with a bonus point, they will advance to the play-offs for the fourth consecutive season irrespective of any other results.
Tomane and a host of Brumbies are facing the prospect of an earlier-than-expected departure from the club if the NSW Waratahs can find a way to jump them on the ladder.
It's still unknown whether he's done any further damage to his medial ligament or if it's a new injury.
"His pain has decreased and signs are looking positive for a shorter recovery rather than a longer one, but he'll have a scan tomorrow which will give us a definite answer," coach Stephen Larkham said on Sunday.
The Brumbies suffered a massive blow from the Auckland Blues last Friday, losing 40-15 to leave their finals hopes hanging by a thread.
But the good news out of the weekend – which also involved losing more than half of the team's luggage on a flight from Auckland to Sydney and delayed travel – is that they still lead the Australian finals race and their position hasn't changed.
Skipper and Queensland-bound Stephen Moore says his team must find a way to lift and put into action the improvements they have spoken about to save their campaign.
The Waratahs play the Blues in New Zealand on Friday night, and the result of that game will have a direct impact on the Brumbies' finals fortunes.
The Brumbies and Waratahs are locked on 39 ladder points, but the Canberra side is ahead in the Australian conference because they've won more games.
Only one of the Brumbies or the Waratahs will play Super Rugby finals this year. The scenarios for the Brumbies to advance to the finals are:
- If the Waratahs lose to the Blues by more than seven points, the Brumbies will advance to the play-offs regardless of their result against the Force.
- If the Waratahs lose to the Blues by fewer than seven points, the Brumbies will need to either beat the Force or lose by fewer than seven points as well.
- If the Waratahs beat the Blues, the Brumbies need to beat the Force.
- If the Waratahs secure a bonus-point triumph, the Brumbies need to do the same against the Force.
The Brumbies are trying to avoid the ladder scenarios to simply topple the controversy-stricken Force, knowing they still control their own finals fate.
The Brumbies will know whether they need to beat the Force to earn a play-off spot, with the NSW Waratahs playing the Auckland Blues at Eden Park the previous night.
Moore will draw level with good mate Nathan Sharpe as the most capped player in Australian Super Rugby history in the last-round fixture, but a loss could end his eight-season stint at the Brumbies.
Wallabies skipper Moore lamented a poor start for his team's 40-15 loss to the Blues last Friday and said that must improve to keep their title hopes alive. "We didn't play well across the game [against the Blues]. Certain parts were OK but it wasn't good enough," Moore said.
"We started poorly [two weeks ago] and again [against the Blues], it's something we spoke about before the game and we didn't go out there and do it, so that's disappointing.
"You can talk about it until you're blue in the face but you actually have to translate it out on the field. So that's something we need to look at."
Failing to make the finals would be considered a failed campaign given the amount of Wallabies talent the Brumbies have on their roster and the fact they've been at the top of the Australian ladder for almost the entire season.
They were set to welcome back Tomane, who was the in-form winger in the competition before a knee injury cut him down in April and kept him on the sideline for 10 weeks, but he copped a heavy tackle to his knee playing for the Uni-Norths Owls on Saturday and is in doubt to face the Force.
Scott Fardy needed stitches under his chin and on the top of his head as well as nursing a sore shoulder, and will be monitored over the coming days before determining his fitness.
Pocock is yet to return to full-contact training after fracturing his eye socket in the Wallabies' Test series against England and is rated an unlikely chance to play the Force.
The Force are well out of finals contention after another disappointing season, but will sense an opportunity to spoil the Brumbies' year and get bragging rights.
The Force beat the Brumbies in the final of the world club 10s tournament in Mauritius in June and will be intent on inflicting more pain on their Canberra rivals.
"The Force are going to be a dangerous side," Moore said.
"The set piece has worked well for us all year, but you need to have more variation than that.
"We've got to regroup quickly and make sure we have a good performance and a good week this week."
SUPER RUGBY ROUND 17
Saturday: ACT Brumbies v Western Force at Canberra Stadium, 7.45pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.
