There were more positives than negatives off the back of the ACT Brumbies triumph over the Wellington Hurricanes, but one thing is apparent says assistant coach Rod Seib, they need to be more clinical with their chances.
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The side held out the visitors 12-10 on Saturday to claim their first win in the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman series, following two missed penalty kicks and a disallowed try by the Hurricanes in the dying stages.
Seib said there were a lot of positives out of the weekend's game at Canberra Stadium, but heading into their match against the Dunedin Highlanders, the Brumbies needed to remain focused for the full 80 minutes.
He said it was one of the side's focal points in their game preparations each week.
"It's just really going for the full 80 minutes, you know, and being clinical, obviously when opportunities come up, we've got to be making sure we're taking them," the coach said.
"And one thing that has made apparent over the last month has been opportunities that we've missed. So we've got to be much more clinical in identifying that space and attacking that space when it comes up.
"It's not an easy thing to, you know, get 15 blokes operating the same way and finding space and being coordinated is a difficult challenge so we've just got to be making sure we're on the same page and recognising that each week there are ways we can improve and that's certainly one."
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The former player turned coach said it was always easier reviewing a game after a win, but they would still identify areas to improve on heading into their match against the Dunedin Highlanders.
"We certainly had a lot more intent with our play, you know, ... our carrier dominance was certainly improved, and just our preparedness to shift the ball and to find space with real sort of attacking mindset," Sieb said.
"But as always the games are usually won on the back of defence and the way we stood up and defended and our work rate around the park in defence was outstanding.
"We recognise there's still areas we need to really improve on and one of those is putting points on the board, so we need to make sure we come out with more points this weekend in order to put ourselves in a chance of winning."
The Brumbies will host the Highlanders on Friday night and will look to secure their second win in the series to end the Super Rugby season on a high. Following their win, the ACT side sits sixth on the ladder with five points heading into round five.
However, the visitors sit second on the ladder, one point behind the Blues, and will need to secure a win to reach the final.
Saturday try-scorer Len Ikitau said the difference in the Brumbies squad last week, which led to their first win in five games, was the side stuck to their game plan and worked hard in defence.
He said it was something they would need to bring heading into their match against the Highlanders.
"All New Zealand teams pretty much play the same, they like to attack and play on the front foot. I guess we have just got to stick to our guns and if we defend well again we'll be able to attack like we showed on the weekend," he said.
"I thought we defended really well on the weekend. We were physical upfront and on the edges we were pretty dominant there, so I guess if we keep that going into this week, and get our training right. I guess it will lead us into good stead."