Nic White says Brumbies have to 'stand in front of the bus' against Ardie Savea's Hurricanes

Savea is one of the most dominant loose forwards in world rugby and he will lead the Wellington Hurricanes to Canberra Stadium to face the Brumbies on Sunday.

Brumbies coach Dan McKellar calls Savea the "heart and soul" of the Hurricanes. Shut him and scrumhalf TJ Perenara down and the hosts will go a long way towards four competition points, but let them run amok with a destructive style of rugby and the Brumbies know they could be in for a long day.

That's why the intensity has gone up another notch at Brumbies headquarters this week, with White adamant they need to be even better than they were against the Otago Highlanders last week.

"You've got to replicate it and that doesn't just happen. It's bloody hard when you've got the Savea brothers [Ardie and Julian] standing in front of you, so that's the challenge," White said.

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"We've spoken about preparing well, you've got to prepare physically and mentally to stand in front of the bus and put your head in a dark place. The end [of the season] is near now, and when you can see it, that starts to become a little bit easier.

"They're going to be threatening. They're able to play that bruising, combative rugby with some big bodies. It's easy to sit there and say 'defend Ardie Savea', but doing it is another thing.

"There are certain areas where they don't hide what they're going to do but then you've got to stand in front of it and stop it. That's a challenge in itself.

"Standard Kiwi side, one to 15 they're able to hurt you. They do have a number of really world-class players who are going to be hard to stop and that's the challenge. We've got some plans ourselves and I look forward to getting out, us versus them, let's see who wins."

The Brumbies return to Canberra Stadium for the first time since March 18 when they welcome the Hurricanes to town this weekend.

White is relishing the chance to play on home soil again, laying down the challenge as the second-placed Brumbies hunt their second New Zealand-based scalp in as many weeks.

"Whilst away games are a good opportunity to live in each other's pockets and get to know each other, probably a few boys sick of me, there's no better feeling than running out onto your home turf," White said.

"Six weeks is a long time in a short Super Rugby season, so come on down Hurricanes, welcome to [Canberra]."

SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC ROUND 11

Sunday: ACT Brumbies v Wellington Hurricanes at Canberra Stadium, 2pm. Tickets from Ticketek. Broadcast on Stan Sport.

Brumbies team: 1. Scott Sio, 2. Lachlan Lonergan, 3. Sefo Kautai, 4. Darcy Swain, 5. Cadeyrn Neville, 6. Rob Valetini, 7. Jahrome Brown, 8. Pete Samu, 9. Nic White (c), 10. Noah Lolesio, 11. Andy Muirhead, 12. Irae Simone, 13. Len Ikitau, 14. Tom Wright. 15. Tom Banks. Reserves: 16. Folau Fainga'a, 17. James Slipper, 18. Tom Ross, 19. Tom Hooper, 20. Luke Reimer, 21. Ryan Lonergan, 22. Hudson Creighton, 23. Ollie Sapsford.

Hurricanes team: 1. Pouri Rakete-Stones, 2. James O'Reilly, 3. Tyrel Lomax, 4. James Blackwell, 5. Justin Sangster, 6. Te Kamaka Howden, 7. Blake Gibson, 8. Ardie Savea (c), 9. TJ Perenara, 10. Jackson Garden-Bachop, 11. Salesi Rayasi, 12. Peter Umaga-Jensen, 13. Bailyn Sullivan, 14. Julian Savea, 15. Jordie Barrett. Reserves: 16. Kianu Kereru-Symes, 17. Xavier Numia, 18. Tevita Mafileo, 19. Isaia Walker-Leawere, 20. Caleb Delany, 21. Jamie Booth, 22. Aidan Morgan, 23. Billy Proctor.

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