Brumbies plan to disrupt Chiefs halves and use mistakes to chance their arm

STEPHEN Larkham has put the blowtorch on Aaron Cruden and Tawera Kerr-Barlow, saying their penchant for errors will create chances for the Brumbies.

HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND - JULY 04: Aaron Cruden of the Chiefs skips inside Jack Lam of the Hurricanes during the round 18 Super Rugby match between the Chiefs and the Hurricanes at Waikato Stadium on July 4, 2014 in Hamilton, New Zealand. (Photo by Jason Oxenham/Getty Images)

BRUMBIES coach Stephen Larkham has ramped up the pressure on Chiefs halves Aaron Cruden and Tawera Kerr-Barlow, saying their penchant for errors will create opportunities for the home side in Canberra on Saturday night.

Cruden and Kerr-Barlow were both missing when the Brumbies defeated the Chiefs 41-23 earlier this season and will be crucial for the defending champions, who hope to replicate their effort from last year’s grand final win against Larkham’s team.

But while the All Black pair are unpredictable, Larkham said they could also play into the Brumbies’ hands in this sudden-death elimination final.

“Both of those guys add a bit of X-factor to the team, you’re not really sure what they’re going to do, but we’re going to be ready for that,” Larkham said.

“They’ve got their fair amount of mistakes in them as well, so we’ve just got to be ready for anything they do and any opportunities they create for either ourselves or themselves.”

Cruden said defence will be the key if the Chiefs are to keep hopes alive of a three-peat.

“Definitely, if we defend well then things start to fall into place for us and that’s definitely been the case over the last two weeks,” Cruden said.

Larkham has named Robbie Coleman on the wing ahead of Joe Tomane, who is on the bench along with fellow Wallaby Pat McCabe.

And as announced earlier this week, rookie prop Allan Alaalatoa has been named on the bench for his potential Super Rugby debut.

“He’s the only forward that hasn’t had the chance to play this year, so he finally gets his chance,” Larkham said of the 125kg giant.

“We’re expecting big things from him, we’ve signed him for next year on the back of a lot of potential and big improvement this year. We’re expecting him to play well.

“It will be a good test for him, against a very big forward pack and particularly a very big front row.”

BRUMBIES: Jesse Mogg, Henry Speight, Tevita Kuridrani, Christian Lealiifano, Robbie Coleman, Matt Toomua, Nic White, Ben Mowen (captain), Jarrad Butler, Scott Fardy, Leon Power, Sam Carter, Ben Alexander, Josh Mann-Rea, Scott Sio. Res: Ruaidhri Murphy, Ruan Smith, Allan Alaalatoa, Fotu Auelua, Tom McVerry, Michael Dowsett, Joe Tomane, Pat McCabe.

CHIEFS: Dwayne Sweeney, Asaeli Tikoirotuma, Tim Nanai-Williams, Bundee Aki, James Lowe, Aaron Cruden, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Liam Squire, Tanerau Latimer, Liam Messam, Brodie Retallick, Mike Fitzgerald, Ben Tameifuna, Mahonri Schwalger, Jamie Mackintosh. Reserves: Nathan Harris, Pauliasi Manu, Nick Barrett, Matt Symons, Tevita Koloamatangi, Augustine Pulu, Gareth Anscombe, Tom Marshall.

Originally published as Brumbies plan to disrupt Chiefs halves and use mistakes to chance their arm