THEY'VE done the maths and looked at every scenario, but ACT Brumbies coach Jake White says the key to his team's Super Rugby titles hopes is simple - win six games.
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The Brumbies will resume their bid to break a seven-year finals drought when they take on the Western Force in Perth tomorrow night.
They sit five points clear of the Queensland Reds at the top of the Australian conference and can almost taste a guaranteed play-off spot.
But White has implored his players to do what Brumbies teams of the past have failed at and be the masters of their destiny.
''We've done our sums, the maximum the Reds can finish on is 59 points if they get five points from every game,'' White said. ''If they finish with 59, we need to get 60.
''We never want our destiny to be in someone else's hands … if you go through worrying about other teams winning or losing you're not in a position of strength.
''Ideally we've got six games left - three in our pool and if we win those, the quarter final, win that the semi-final and win that then it's the final.
''Then we don't have to worry about who plays who or finishes above and below us, we win six games and we win the competition. What a great position to be in.''
The Brumbies' immediate focus is on toppling the Force who will farewell veteran Nathan Sharpe as he plays his last game in Perth.
While White has investigated all the scenarios, his players know they can't afford to think beyond the clash with the Force.
White named his team for the match yesterday with four changes from the side which beat the Melbourne Rebels on June 1.
Henry Speight returns to the starting XV to replace Joseph Tomane, who is battling an ankle injury.
Wallabies props Ben Alexander and Dan Palmer are back in the front row and Sam Carter returns to lock.
Powerful No.8 Fotu Auelua has been ruled out after suffering a hamstring injury while playing for Wests last weekend.
Despite the three-week competition hiatus, flanker Peter Kimlin said the excitement of a potential finals berth resulted in the sharpest training session of the year on Monday.
''Everyone was just excited to be at training and the guys who have come back in from the Wallabies with new experiences,'' Kimlin said.
''At times you do have to keep a lid on it. At times [yesterday] we got a bit over excited and overwhelmed and that results in dropped balls.
''We're not getting too far ahead of ourselves, we know we want to win those games but we're just trying to keep it basic.''
The Brumbies are confident they can negate Sharpe, who is one of the best lineout tacticians in Super Rugby. With Kimlin and Mowen in the back row, the pair can be extra lineout jumpers with locks Sam Carter and Leon Power. All are taller than 195cm.
''The bottom line is we have to try and keep the consistency going and keep the guys going for what could be another six weeks of rugby,'' White said.
''The one thing is I'm not sure how many lineouts the Force are going to want to give us.
''But for every lineout we get, we'll have to make sure we get to every breakdown because that's where they're strong.
''They will want to keep it in field and try to get us to play as much rugby as possible and we'll be trying to play as quickly as we can with a team that's fresh and wants to score tries.''