The ACT Brumbies have secured a Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific finals spot and placed the NSW Waratahs' season on life support with a clinical 21-14 derby win in Sydney.
The Brumbies punished the Waratahs for their lack of execution, with 37-year-old lock Cadeyrn Neville proving an unlikely hero in the tense victory at Allianz Stadium.
While Australia's benchmark Brumbies also kept alive their hopes of a crucial top-four finish, another frustrating home defeat left Dan McKellar's side needing a miracle to make the playoffs.
The Waratahs must beat the Western Force in Perth next Saturday and hope the sixth-placed Queensland Reds lose their remaining two regular-season games — against Moana Pasifika in Auckland and the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua in Brisbane — to scrape into the playoffs.
Finishing in the top four shapes as critical under the new finals format, which pits first versus sixth, second against fifth, and third versus fourth in the opening week of the playoffs.
The highest-ranked losers in the first three finals — which are all likely to be staged in New Zealand — will advance to the semi-finals.
In another result, the Crusaders edged the Chiefs 36-32.
Today, the Reds will face Moana Pasifika at 4.35pm, the Hurricanes will take on the Highlanders at 7.05pm, and the Fijian Drua will meet the Force at 9.35pm.
Source: Super Rugby
