Brumbies skipper Ben Mowen in action

ACT Brumbies captain Ben Mowen has lauded the club’s courageous Super Rugby finals win against the Waikato Chiefs as the best performance of the past three years.

But Mowen, the most-capped skipper in Brumbies history, insists the ACT side can improve on its epic eight-try win which ended the Chiefs’ two-year reign as Super Rugby champions.

The Brumbies held on for a cliffhanger 32-30 triumph at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night, setting up a likely week-two finals clash against arch rivals the NSW Waratahs next weekend.

The Brumbies will play either the Waratahs in Sydney or the Canterbury Crusaders in Christchurch, but had to wait on the result between the Otago Highlanders and Durban Sharks in South Africa before knowing who and where they will play in a grand final qualifier.

But beating the Chiefs was sweet revenge for last season’s grand final defeat, with the Brumbies withstanding a late surge to hold on for one of the most thrilling wins of the season.

The finals contest will go down as an absolute classic, both teams showing brilliant attacking rugby with brutal defence.

“Without doing a lot of analysis, I have a feeling that’s our best performance of the last three years,” Mowen said.

“To get that sort of when against that quality of opposition, with the ups and downs of the games … it was see-sawing and there were one or two moments that if it was the same side of ours four weeks ago, we may have just played conservatively. But we put skill in the game … it’s an outstanding win, one of the best of the last three years.”

Both teams scored four tries in an absorbing contest.

The Brumbies opened the Chiefs up early, scoring two tries when Tim Nanai-Williams was sent to the sin bin after just five minutes.

The Brumbies led for the entire contest, except for when Aaron Cruden slotted a third-minute penalty goal and when Gareth Anscombe scored match-levelling try with 20 minutes to go.

The Chiefs charged back into the contest in the second half with three superb tries as they attempted to keep their bid for a hat-trick of titles alive.

But Cruden missed a sideline conversion and the Brumbies held on to possession for the last five minutes to clinch victory.

“We played some wonderful football, but in the end it was a bit of grit that got us the win,” said Brumbies director of rugby Laurie Fisher. It got fairly tense there for a while, it was two sides giving their best. It was a sensational game and if you paid to get in you got your money’s worth.”

The Brumbies are confident their squad got through the match unscathed as they prepare for a potential blockbuster against the Waratahs.

Sam Carter injured his ankle in the warm-up, but powered through in an inspirational effort.

“He never whinges, he just gets on with it,” Mowen said.

Leon Power got a head knock, Jesse Mogg hurt his back and third-string hooker Josh Mann-Rea looked to be nursing a hamstring strain.

Henry Spreight, the “bro with the fro” was more than a handful for the Chiefs and looked dangerous with ball in hand

Henry Speight feared he had broken his jaw again just before half-time, but the flying Fijian delivered another breathtaking performance which prompted Chiefs coach Dave Rennie to declare the winger ready for Test rugby.

“Hell yeah [he’s ready for Test rugby], I think he’s been ready for a while,” Rennie said.

Referee Craig Joubert almost sent the Brumbies into a riot with line-ball calls going against the home side in the dying stages with the match up for grabs.

He sin-binned Nanai-Williams in the first half for a cynical infringement at the breakdown and then returned the favour by sending crowd-favourite Speight to the sin bin for the same offence.

Both teams scored two tries while the opposition had respective players in the sin bin.

But the boos from Brumbies fans did little to deter the Chiefs, who charged back into the match with a 77th-minute try to replacement Anscombe to get the defending champions within two points.

Cruden’s sideline conversion attempt sailed wide, setting up a grandstand finish in the last three minutes.

Brumbies kicker Christian Lealiifano missed two late crucial penalties which left the door open for the Chiefs to snatch victory, but the Brumbies showed enormous courage to hold on.

“We started slowly and gave the Brumbies too big of a lead. We showed a lot of character, but in playoff games you need to be clinical for 80 minutes,” said Chiefs co-captain Cruden.

“We are proud to be here, but we really thought we could push on… it wasn’t to be.”

“It would be massive for Australian rugby [if we play the Waratahs]. Two in-form sides going up against each other, we’re a game apiece so you get a decider and it would be guaranteed an Australian team in the final,” Mowen said.

“There’s plenty on the table, from our point-of-view we want to go up and spoil it.”

What have we learned?

THE BRO WITH THE FRO

If there’s any lingering doubt about Henry Speight’s Wallabies credentials, it was erased in a superb opening half from the Brumbies winger. Speight broke a tackle every time he touched the ball and ran for 134 metres in the first 40 minutes of the game. He’s a genuine game breaker and capable of stepping straight into Test duties when he becomes eligible to play for Australia in September. Speight was boosted by the presence of his older brother Sam in the crowd at Canberra Stadium. It was the first time in Speight’s four-year Brumbies career that he had one of his brothers or sisters in the stands. Speight is locked in a battle with Australian immigration officials, who are refusing to let his Fiji-based brother Jerry and sister Davila come into Australia because they are deemed a risk of becoming asylum seekers. But with Speight destined for Wallabies duties surely Immigration will let them watch from the stands.

JOUBERT’S TOUGH STANCE

Referee Craig Joubert wasted no time making his intentions clear about cynical play. After five minutes and with the Brumbies getting the first attacking chance of the game, Chiefs star Tim Nanai-Williams was caught at the bottom of a ruck. Nanai-Williams failed to roll away and Joubert stopped play, giving him a yellow card for deliberately stopping the Brumbies’ attack. It had an instant impact. First Nic White scored down the blindside from the ensuing lineout and just four minutes later Robbie Coleman had the second try of the game thanks to some running rugby from inside the Brumbies’ half. Joubert was at his best again in the second half, penalising Henry Speight for the exact same infringement as Nanai-Williams. It gave the Chiefs’ a 10-minute attacking window and they scored immediately through scrumhalf Tawera Kerr-Barlow. Nanai-Williams redeemed himself when he levelled the score with his first try while Speight was out of action.

THE CROWD

So just 14,284 turned up to a cold, but clear, Canberra Stadium to watch the Brumbies’ last game here for the season. A grand final rematch. A qualifying final. But still that’s not enough to get spectators through the gates. The same old excuses will be made. It was cold. I was doing my hair. Have you seen my 200-centimetre LCD screen? Blah, blah, blah. Maybe crowds are just a thing of the past and it’s time to move on. With the Brumbies unlikely to return in 2014, the good news is we won’t have to mention it again.

INJURY WARD

The Brumbies won the war, but at what cost? Sam Carter looked to have re-injured his ankle in the first half but of course played out the game. He was super important for the Brumbies’ go-forward, repeatedly charging across the advantage line in his bustling manner. It was almost a repeat of his efforts on his Wallabies debut when he gutsed out the match despite missing the rest of the Test series against the French and then the NSW Waratahs clash. The Brumbies’ only fit hooker, Josh Mann-Rea, also seemed to be limping with his hamstring perhaps feeling the effects of the Super Rugby finals cauldron. Their superboot Christian Leali’ifano took a knock and looked a bit proppy but continued. Leon Power and Jesse Mogg were forced from the field. Power looked to be knocked out from a head knock and Mogg was left at the bottom of a ruck clutching his noggin. They’re all crucial cogs in the Brumbies machine as they push deeper into the Super Rugby finals.

LEALIIFANO’S RADAR BACK

Going into the match Leali’ifano had the worst success rate in the competition, but with a hint of form from the second half against the Western Force last weekend. After a promising start, he looked to be carrying that momentum into the Super Rugby finals. But cracks again started to appear in the second half as the game tightened. He had kicked four from five until scores were level deep into the second half. He had a penalty shot with it locked at 25-all, but missed. It didn’t prove costly as Jarrad Butler barged over in a rolling maul not long after. Again Leali’ifano was in the spotlight with a penalty shot he would normally expect to make as the Brumbies led 32-30. But again he shanked it and the Chiefs were left with the hope that a penalty conversion was enough to pinch the game. It didn’t matter in the end and Leali’ifano will give the kicking tee a good working over this week.

Scorers:

Brumbies 32:

• Tries: Nic White (1), Robbie Coleman (1), Jesse Mogg (1), Jarrad Butler (1)
• Conversions:Christian Lealiifano (3)
• Penalties: Christian Lealiifano (2)

Chiefs 30:

• Tries: Bundee Aki (1), Tawera Kerr-Barlow (1), Tim Nanai-Williams (1), Gareth Anscombe (1)
• Conversions: Aaron Cruden (2)
• Penalties: Aaron Cruden (2)