BRUMBIES

RECRUITMENT BALANCE They have David Pocock back so, on that basis alone, they are up on where they were last year. They will feel the loss of Scott Fardy and Tomas Cubelli but on balance, the Brumbies have a similar strength squad to the one they used in 2017. WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TACTICALLY? The promotion of assistant coach Dan McKellar to replace the Wallabies-bound Stephen Larkham, leaves an element of the unknown about the Brumbies.

They were a little more adventurous in 2017 than they were in 2016, but it would be a surprise if they are not a safety-first team that will still revert to the driving maul as their go-to option.

The return of Pocock means they will win turnovers and the potential to counter attack will be there. GUT FEEL – RISERS OR FALLERS? Neither. We are expecting more of the same from the Brumbies and don’t see them necessarily being different in any significant way. WHERE WILL THEY FINISH? They have edged the Australian Conference in the last two years but we don’t think they will have quite enough fire power to pull that off again. Or more accurately, we think the Waratahs will finally pull finger and come closer to fulfilling their potential which is greater than the Brumbies’.