Corey Toole believes the ACT Brumbies shouldn’t be underestimated against the Crusaders, despite a 26-year hoodoo hanging over their heads.
The Brumbies will face the reigning premiers on Sunday afternoon in a repeat of the 2004 Super 12 grand final, and although the clash doesn’t have the stakes of a glittering trophy on the line, Canberra are still vying to make history.
Having not won against the Crusaders in Christchurch since 2000, the Brumbies are desperate to end their losing streak in front of the typically raucous crowd in New Zealand’s south.
It will be a steep task though as Canberra have struggled against their opponents, winning just once in their last 14 clashes.
But Toole says pundits shouldn’t write them off as they prevailed in a dominant 56-24 display against the Western Force last Saturday.
“We put out a pretty good performance (last week). It definitely was not perfect, but we’re building quite nicely as a team,” the winger said.
“We briefly spoke about it (not winning in 26 years) at the start of the week. We also said we had a poor record against the Blues at Eden Park, and we broke that record last year.
“We can take a bit of confidence from that.”
The Brumbies snapped their 12-year losing streak at Eden Park last year when they beat Auckland 21-20.
But at the end of last season, crossing the Tasman proved costly again as they were knocked out of the semi-finals by the Chiefs in Hamilton.
Toole couldn’t put his finger on why it’s such a steep task to play in New Zealand.
But what he could pinpoint was the impact James Slipper has had on his team, as he prepares to play his 200th Super Rugby game on Sunday.
The former Wallaby’s appearance will help him inch one step closer to becoming the competition’s all-time games record breaker which is currently held by Wyatt Crockett (202).
“It’s a massive milestone for Slips. He’s played that many games over that many seasons. It’s remarkable,” Toole said.
“Every player in this squad looks up to him. Hopefully, we can do the job and make him proud this weekend.”
The Brumbies squad remains unchanged after coach Stephen Larkham opted to keep Wallaby Nick Frost rested.
The Crusaders welcome back All Blacks prop Tamaiti Williams, while Fletcher Newell and Will Jordan come into the team.
It follows the reigning premiers’ upset 25-23 loss to rivals Highlanders last Friday.