NSW winger Rob Horne says Brumbies are form team of Super Rugby

WINGER Rob Horne says the Waratahs are “underdogs” against the Brumbies this weekend. He has a point.

Rob Horne of NSW during the Super Rugby match between the Queensland Reds and the NSW Waratahs. Pic Darren England.

THEY are defending champions, playing in front of their passionate home supporters against a team they knocked out of last year’s finals, but when Rob Horne describes the Waratahs as “underdogs” against the Brumbies this weekend he has a point.

While NSW may be reigning trophy holders, their form in 2015 has paled in comparison to the resurgent Brumbies, who lead the Super Rugby competition after five rounds.

“In the context of the season this is a big game, especially being underdogs,” NSW winger Horne said.

“They are the form team.

“They are doing extremely well, everyone seems to be on the same page and everyone is doing their job.

“They are not a team that is going to beat themselves, you are going to have to work for it.

“We can’t be giving them the opportunities that we’ve given other sides so far this season.

“It’s a very efficient machine down there, we’re going to have to put together the type of performance we haven’t managed to do this year.”

While the Tahs have a game in hand over their Canberra rivals, the Brumbies already boast the best attack (140 points for) and best defence (52 points against) in the whole competition, and lead by two points over the undefeated Hurricanes.

Should the Brumbies win the encounter on Sunday afternoon at Allianz Stadium, they will put a gap of up to 15 points between themselves and NSW, a massive gap to overhaul if NSW is to claim the Australian conference again and take a guaranteed finals spot.

Horne goes head-to-head with Brumbies flyer Henry Speight in a game loaded with crucial one-on-one match-ups.

The last time the Wallabies played a Test, against England last November, Horne and Speight were the starting Australian wingers.

“He is playing great footy at the moment,” Horne said of his rival. “He is a pretty talented ball-runner and great footballer, he is a real threat in their side, they’ve got a red-hot backline.”

But as far as Wallabies permutations go, Horne is not getting carried away.

“We are all trying to play well, but we’ll see what happens,” Horne said.

“All that stuff is out of your hands, you’re trying to contribute to your team and the rest of it will sort itself out, it is irrelevant right now.”

As he has done throughout the two seasons, Horne is likely to attack on the left wing but defend in midfield, where the Brumbies are sure to send big boppers Rory Arnold (120kg) and Ita Vaea (119kg), who has returned to rugby following the discovery of life-threatening blood clots in his heart that halted his career in 2013.

“It’s great to see Ita Vaea back on the field, he has had a tough run away from the field so it’s awesome to see him back out there,” Horne said.

“He will be looking to run it all day, he has a huge impact for their side.”

Originally published as NSW winger Rob Horne says Brumbies are form team of Super Rugby