The 60,000 question leading up to the final this Saturday is... will the Brumbies manage without Sterling Mortlock. According to this article over at Foxsports, apparently the Crusaders don't seem to think so. I'm not entirely sure that the Brumbies can do so either :/ Mortlock is certainly a formidable player and captain! The Brumbies were without him though for much of last Saturday's game, and there's more than a couple of experienced internationals in the Brumbies' team who can step up to the plate. The home ground advantage should also work in the Brumbies' favour. I want them to win - for David Nucifora's sake :)

Later.........

I'm back!

What a couple of great games of footy Saturday night! Over in Christchurch the Crusaders/Stormers game was a tough tussle in the first half, the Stormers up by a point 13-12 at half time. The Stormers though didn't seem to have enough juice left in the tank for the second half, and the Crusaders got up 27-16 in the end. There were some excellent passages of play, and the Crusaders had luck on their side to boot. Justin Marshall rallied his team and they lifted to put themselves into the final... AGAIN!

Down in Canberra the Brumbies were awesome from the kick off whistle in their win over the Chiefs 32-17. Stirling Mortlock was helped off the field with just 10 minutes of the game gone - he's done his knee and will miss the final next week. Devastating! While the Brumbies only had 30% of possession on the night, their defence was rock solid. Very impressive performance which augurs well for the final on Saturday.