Belief is Brumbies' secret weapon
Inside centre Pat McCabe says the major difference in the Brumbies backline this season has been the belief and confidence they have in one another, which they will rely on against the Reds this weekend.
The Canberra side have made a remarkable turnaround in form under former Springbok coach Jake White this year and currently lead the Australian conference, although their prospects of remaining there until the end of the season will be put to the test by a resurgent Reds side this weekend.
The Brumbies put together another convincing display to beat the free-scoring Hurricanes in Wellington last week, despite fielding a relatively inexperienced backline without injured playmaker Christian Lealiifano.
McCabe is the most senior member of the backline and he believes that the major difference this year has been the collective confidence in the squad, as they have shown impressive defensive discipline and an impressive ability to score tries.
He explained: "There's a huge amount of trust and belief there in the group, even if we are down that we can score points and make improvements to what we may be doing wrong.
"There's no doubt we're a better attacking side than last year. It's always nice to be scoring tries," said McCabe.
The Wallaby midfielder knows that his team will be in for a severe test against the Reds this weekend, especially with Will Genia and Quade Cooper having re-ignited their halfback partnership against the Lions last week, but expressed confidence that his team can handle anything that is thrown at them.
"Our breakdown efficiency is something we've worked hard on and will inevitably be a big focus for us again this weekend against the Reds. There's a lot more confidence in our backline – it's not just the same guys stepping up but everyone's sharing the load a bit more which is really encouraging," he said.
McCabe's centre partner Andrew Smith has been one of the success stories in the backline this season, having been given the chance to prove his worth with an extended run at outside centre, and he feels that continuity in selection has been an important part of their success as a combination.
He said: "As each game goes by we have more trust in each other to carry out our own game plan. We've seen that trust grow each week. My combination with Pat has be improving over the last 10 weeks too - we've both been able to connect to our five-eighths.
"For me personally, I feel like having been given a bit more opportunity this year has been great for my own confidence. I feel like I've taken my opportunities when they've come along and it's nice to be enjoying my rugby," added Smith.
With the Reds in ominous form over the last few weeks the Brumbies can expect a stern examination this weekend against a team who are not only the defending champions but also appear to be the only other Australian team with a chance of making the play-offs.