Brumbies upset by referee Steve Walsh's decision to give NSW feed on final scrum

THE Brumbies say they control their own finals destiny but are fuming at referee Steve Walsh over a contentious decision in their loss to NSW.

THE Brumbies say they can still control their own finals destiny but are fuming at referee Steve Walsh for making the job more diffiicult with a contentious decision in the dying moments of their loss to NSW.

The ACT side remain conference leaders courtesy of the Reds losing to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein but are privately upset at a Walsh decision that denied them a potential last-gasp victory at ANZ Stadium.

Trailing 28-22 and with only two minutes on the clock, the Brumbies forwards rolled a maul from 20m out to the NSW line. It collapsed just short, however, and despite Brumbies pleas for a penalty, Walsh ruled the ACT side had been held up and gave NSW a scrum feed. The siren sounded seconds later.

"It's kind of hard to get the feeling obviously, I am extremely biased about what decision should have been made there," Brumbies captain Ben Mowen post-match.

"I was at the front of it and it felt like we had really good momentum and were going forward. It's desperation at those times and there are bodies going everywhere. Obviously we were pulled up short and didn't get a result."

Asked if it was an illegal pull-up, Mowen said: "I would have to go back and have a look at it. We definitely felt like we had really strong momentum, and I was at the front of it, we were just creeping towards it really well. I thought we were going to score for sure."

In the hours after the NSW win, Brumbies forwards coach Laurie Fisher tweeted: "Will be some interesting analysis on what causes that maul to collapse half a metre from the line. Won't change the result however. Move on."

Walsh has history with the Brumbies at ANZ Stadium, with the whistleblower having been embroiled in drama in 2010 when he had a running battle with ACT skipper Stephen Hoiles and denied a legitimate try for Adam Ashley-Cooper. Matt Giteau was later fined for saying the Brumbies shouldn't turn up for their next game given Walsh was refereeing.

NSW coach Michael Cheika said he "thought Steve Walsh reffed really well."

"Yeah, he would have made a few errors but it was so fierce on the ground, you probably could have fouled every ruck and you could have let every ruck go," Cheika said.

"I think he managed it pretty well. That might be easy for me to say as the winner but we definitely didn't win the ruck battle."

The Brumbies, who have won just three games of their last eight, are experiencing a dose of the mid-year wobbles but coach Jake White said they remain confident of cracking the playoffs.

"We can still control our own destiny, we still have enough games to make sure we make the playoffs. It would be easier if we got a result (against NSW) but at the end of the day there is still a lot of rugby to be played," he said.

Mowen echoed his coach's sentiments.

"All the work has been banked. We've done the work and we have the belief. We just have to tap back into that," Mowen said.

The Brumbies will lose George Smith, and have Christian Lealiifano and Pat McCabe in doubt for their next clash with the Blues.