ACT Brumbies battling the 'six inches between the ears'

Laurie Fisher says the ACT Brumbies' biggest concern this week is "the six inches between the ears".

Get that right against the Queensland Reds at Brisbane's Lang Park on Saturday night, and the rest will follow in a battle between Super Rugby AU's heavyweights.

Fisher says the Brumbies' effort at the breakdown last week was lacklustre. One of the competition's premier packs was well below its lofty standards despite walking away victorious.

But the club's forwards coach says plenty of work has been done to address problems "between the ears" to reinstall a ruthless mentality and steel them for a clash with the unbeaten ladder-leading Reds.

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"It's about winning the race and not waiting for the perfect picture," Fisher said of the task ahead at the breakdown.

"We were sluggish [last week]. That's not a technical thing, we were slow to react. That's the six inches between the ears. We get that right, and everything will be hunky dory.

"A lot of it just between the ears. If you get it right between the ears, it then reflects in your training performance and it reflects your game performance.

"It's certainly front and centre in our mindset. We were very good against them last time, we had no turnovers at the breakdown against them at Canberra Stadium.

"We're obviously targeting that again, it won't be easy with [Fraser] McReight playing very well and [Liam] Wright back this week. They've got other threats, [Filipo] Daugunu and guys like that.

"We'll need to be at our best. We've worked hard, mentally, physically and technically, on being where we need to be. That's one of the challenge areas.

"They have the capacity when things go a bit pear-shaped, they've got a maul they can go back to and obviously they've got a scrum they can go back to. That's their respite when the game gets ugly.

"We know where the battlegrounds are, we've just got to be good."

The Brumbies' cause will be boosted by the return of captain Allan Alaalatoa at tighthead prop while Scott Sio will add some grunt off the bench at loosehead. Darcy Swain returns in the second-row.

It comes after Brumbies coach Dan McKellar promised a ruthless review of last week's win and the squad were dealt just that.

It can so often be a session a player dreads, one in which he hopes he won't be singled out and thus sinks that little deeper into his chair.

But inside Brumbies headquarters this week things were different. Players put their hands up and owned their mistakes, knowing they'll have to be better against the Reds.

"We've all experienced it when people put their head down and they don't want to be the one pointed out," Fisher said.

"Guys who own their performance, own their errors, understood why and how they made them, it makes a coach's job a whole lot easier, rather than having to draw that blood out of a stone.

"You can look at where you went wrong, you can deal with it quickly, then you can focus on what you've got to do the next time.

"We've had a really positive week. We're a good side. We lead a lot of stats in this competition, try scoring and defence stats.

"We're good on both sides of the ball. We know we are, we just have to produce that on Saturday."

SUPER RUGBY AU ROUND EIGHT

Saturday: Queensland Reds v ACT Brumbies at Lang Park, 7.45pm. Broadcast: Live on Stan Sport and Gem.

ACT Brumbies team: 1. James Slipper, 2. Folau Fainga'a, 3. Allan Alaalatoa (c), 4. Darcy Swain, 5. Cadeyrn Neville, 6. Rob Valetini, 7. Tom Cusack, 8. Pete Samu, 9. Nic White, 10. Noah Lolesio, 11. Andy Muirhead, 12. Irae Simone, 13. Len Ikitau, 14. Tom Wright, 15. Tom Banks. Replacements: 16. Lachlan Lonergan, 17. Scott Sio, 18. Sefo Kautai, 19. Nick Frost, 20. James Tucker, 21. Ryan Lonergan, 22. Bayley Kuenzle, 23. Mack Hansen.

Queensland Reds team: 1. Feao Fotuaika, 2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 3. Taniela Tupou, 4. Ryan Smith, 5. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 6. Angus Scott-Young, 7. Fraser McReight, 8. Harry Wilson, 9. Tate McDermott, 10. James O'Connor (c), 11. Jock Campbell, 12. Hamish Stewart, 13. Hunter Paisami, 14. Jordan Petaia, 15. Bryce Hegarty. Replacements: 16. Alex Mafi, 17. Richie Asiata, 18. Zane Nonggorr, 19. Seru Uru, 20. Liam Wright, 21. Kalani Thomas, 22. Josh Flook, 23. Filipo Daugunu.

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