'Equally big challenge coming up': Why bouncing back matters for Brumbies

Even if the ACT Brumbies are running third in the competition and remain Australia's greatest chance of bringing the trophy back to this side of the Tasman.

Because you wouldn't win a second grade game when you look like a 1965 Volkswagen racing against V8s. Maybe those Ted Lasso leadership lessons sent to the Brumbies from one fan wouldn't go astray.

Social media comment sections are a dangerous place to be at the best of times, let alone after a 46-7 loss to the Blues at Eden Park which exposed a gulf between Australia's top team and a New Zealand powerhouse.

But the Brumbies have a chance to change the narrative when they return to Canberra Stadium this Saturday against the undefeated Hurricanes, who sit atop the ladder after nine rounds.

Captain Allan Alaalatoa is closing in on a return from an Achilles injury. Len Ikitau and Andy Muirhead will soon bolster the back line. The Brumbies are still in the box seat for a home quarter-final and the coast is clear for every local rugby participant to fill the Canberra Stadium stands this weekend with ACT Rugby shifting club games away from the traditional Saturday afternoon timeslot.

It is imperative the Brumbies bounce back against the Hurricanes, or Super Rugby fans will recycle the same story - Australia's best are good, but they're just not quite there. So the punters sitting on the fence about going to games will stay at home and New Zealand's 10-year stranglehold on the trophy will continue.

The Brumbies were bashed on their way to suffering their biggest loss to the Blues in Super Rugby history, and coach Stephen Larkham knows things will not get any easier this weekend.

"We knew coming into the game they are up the top of the ladder for a reason," Larkham said.

"Go back to a game they played against the Hurricanes, it was a good performance from the Blues, the Hurricanes got lucky with a couple of tries there.

"That's our challenge now, we've got to move on from this one pretty quickly. We've got to learn from a few things, and we've certainly got to look at how we're training this week.

"We come up against the Hurricanes and they're just as dangerous in attack, probably a little bit more so. The Blues are very powerful and run over the top of you, and the Hurricanes can do that as well, we know that. They've also got a bit of skill out there and they've got a few trick plays.

"There's an equally big challenge coming up this week against the Hurricanes."

A concern for the Brumbies is that when things go wrong, they go horribly wrong.

They have lost just two games this year and still sit third, but they have conceded 46 points in each of those losses.

"Look at our chances in the first half, we weren't clinical enough there. We have five in the 22 and they had three, and they scored all three and we didn't put any points on," Larkham said.

"A bit of a shift that first try for them, we were five metres from their line and turned it over. They went the length, a 14-point turnaround. Right on half-time, the goal-line dropout that goes out on the full and gives them another seven points there.

"I thought the Blues carried exceptionally well, managed to get to the gain line and get over the gain line quite easily. Their maul was dominant in that second half. We had a yellow card as well which knocked us around a little bit with the forwards.

"There weren't a lot of things that went right for us. There's plenty of things we can talk about, but realistically, we lost the physical battle."