Brumbies promise to learn from 'off night' ahead of home final against Hurricanes

It's the day the ACT Brumbies return home to Canberra Stadium to take on the Wellington Hurricanes in the quarter-final.

Three consecutive losses, following a 10-point loss to Moana Pasifika on Saturday, was not the momentum the side hoped to be taking into the finals series.

But Dan McKellar is grateful it happened in Auckland during the last game of the season, instead of in Canberra next week.

"It was an off night for us," he said.

"You wouldn't want that to be happening this coming week, and we've got to make sure that that's not the case.

"We've been up for a long, long time and playing pretty well but we were pretty poor last night, which is not the end of the world.

"We've just got to make sure we prepare well this week, and learn and understand why we were off, and ensure it doesn't happen again."

There were several positives off the field for the visitors, including catching up with former Brumbies Christian Leali'ifano, Solomone Kata and Henry Stowers, and celebrating Moana skipper Sekope Kepu's 150^th game.

On the field, it was a different story.

The Brumbies seemed shellshocked by the speed and physicality of a team that had nothing to lose in their last game of the season.

McKellar did not sugarcoat what he thought of his side's 22-32 performance at Mount Smart Stadium.

Although, he said they would not dwell on it.

"There was no injuries, that was about it really," McKellar said on the positives.

"We've had a couple of big games against the Crusaders and the Blues and we've been on for five weeks really, with tough opposition and we had an off night, it's as simple as that.

"So we won't dwell on it for too long. We'll learn from it and make sure that we get a response this week."

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After Brumbies HQ and the squad dissect every aspect of the loss, to pinpoint where it all went wrong on Saturday, all the attention will turn to the Hurricanes.

And they know how important a home fixture is, with the toll of a trip to New Zealand fresh in their memory.

Finishing fourth on the Super Rugby Pacific ladder secured the Brumbies a home quarter-final, and McKellar said it was important.

"It is very important," he said.

"It allows you to sleep in your own bed, not having to travel, not spending time at airports and on buses and those sort of things, which is all part of it.

"Certainly that's not going to win or lose us the game either way, but the benefit of being at home is positive."

Already the preparation and focus is shifting to what needs to happen next week to get them across the line against the Hurricanes.

Thirteen turnovers, 28 missed tackles, 11 penalties, two yellow cards, and costly individual errors are key areas of the side's Moana loss they can not afford to repeat.

Their signature rolling maul, scrum wins, and other set pieces from Saturday's performance, on the other hand, need to stick around.

Three of the top eight headed for finals are Australian sides, with the Brumbies leading the pack in fourth.

Three straight losses are following the side into the contest, but there are 10 wins to go with it.

That winning formula is what the ACT side will hold onto this week, with McKellar confirming nothing changes for them heading into finals.

"We'll prepare the same as we have been doing for every week of the year," he said.

"We know it's going to be a really physical battle, they've got individual threats and they're dangerous across the park like all the teams from New Zealand.

"We need to make sure that we recover well and review, but park that performance quickly and move on, and understand what's needed to win a quarter-final against Hurricanes."

While it's not a focus for the side, it's a reality that this week could be McKellar's last for the Brumbies. As the head coach is set to hand the reins back to Stephen Larkham at season's end, to focus on his Wallabies assistant coaching role.

The do-or-die nature of Super Rugby finals means McKellar's lengthy stint could end on Saturday night, or in three weeks time in the grand final.

ACT Brumbies v Wellington Hurricanes next Saturday at Canberra Stadium, 7.45pm.