Brumbies head coach Stephen Larkham out to end losing streak vs Crusaders in Christchuch

The team play tomorrow’s game with a two-hour time difference and a streak of not winning against the Crusaders in Christchurch for over 25 years weighing on their shoulders.

“I think travelling over New Zealand is tough enough without making changes, so I think a bit of continuity going into that game will give us better preparation and then hopefully better performance,” said Larkham.

The coach said he sees it as an opportunity to challenge the team and see exactly where they are with their training. The Brumbies play in Christchurch twice this season and “get to play against arguably the best team in the competition, or certainly from last year,” Larkham added.

The Brumbies have not beaten the Crusaders on their home ground in Christchurch for over 25 years. “The opportunity is there for us to go over there and try and put a performance in that we saw last year against the Blues over in Eden Park,” said Larkham, “it's a new year, it's a different team, and it'll be different conditions down there as well.”

Ahead of tomorrow’s game, Larkham said the focus is on ensuring each player has had the best preparation and keeping the game simple. Following his decision to keep the same 23 players, he added that there were very good individual performances, such as Charlie Cale and Tane Edmed scoring a few tries, but that he could name the whole team in the success.

James Slipper, the Brumbies prop and record holder of the most Australian caps, will play his 200th game against the Crusaders and is close to breaking the record for most capped Super Rugby player of all time. The head coach said that Slipper is “a great person first and foremost off the field,” offers good leadership, and is well respected in the group. “Every time he speaks, whether it's in a huddle and in the team meeting space, everyone listens and takes the advice on board,” said Larkham, “he is still playing as good as he's ever played in his career, and it's just a pleasure to coach him.”

Slipper made his Super Rugby debut in 2010 for the Reds, and he made his Wallabies debut that same year. Despite occasionally having to pull Slipper out of training sessions to make sure he has the best prep due to him continuously putting his body on the line throughout training sessions, Larkham said that Slipper is “great leadership in terms of showing the young guys the way they need to prepare themselves for games.” The prop will play in the number 1 position in today’s game.