ACT Brumbies battered by the Chiefs in Super Rugby top four clash

The Brumbies slipped to fourth on a chaotic night at Canberra Stadium, falling 31-21 to the competition-leading Waikato Chiefs amid concern for hooker Lachlan Lonergan after he lasted just 40 minutes.

The ACT still have the inside rail to secure a home quarter-final - they sit four points clear of the Wellington Hurricanes, who face the Canterbury Crusaders in the final round - but Stephen Larkham's side could need to beat the Melbourne Rebels in Canberra next week to avoid a last-minute hiccup.

The Crusaders climbed to second while the Auckland Blues finished the day in third, leaving the Brumbies with everything to play for after capitulating against the Chiefs. The ACT trail the Blues - who play the eighth-placed Highlanders next week - by just one competition point.

A shock loss to the Queensland Reds a fortnight ago remains the only blemish on the Chiefs' record as they close in one securing hosting rights for as long as they're still alive.

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Larkham concedes the Chiefs made the most of the Brumbies' errors and disjointed defence to take 21 points off the hosts "without really fighting for it" - but the elephant in the room was the wholesale changes the ACT coach had to make after adhering to Rugby Australia's resting policy in a World Cup year.

The Brumbies mentor says the raft of changes "potentially" had an impact on the result which cost his side the chance to finish inside the top two, but adds a failure to capitalise in attack and a misfiring maul were major contributors to the result.

"We'll have to get to the end of the season and make a decision on that," Larkham said.

"We'd set out six months ago at least, and planned we were going to rest the players last week. We've still got a bit of work to do now, we've got a big game next week against the Rebels.

"It's a bit hard to say as to whether that was the right call or not, we'll see if these boys bounce back. There were certainly some mistakes in the first half, and some in the second half as well, I don't know whether you put that down to combinations. We'll see how they bounce back next week.

"We've got to move on, obviously. We've had a few losses this year and we spoke about just moving on, what can we learn out of that performance that we can take forward and grow from, and it'll be the same.

"We were in a really good frame of mind going into the game, I thought throughout that first half we put on a really good showing. We started the second half quite well. There's a lot to take out of it, but overall, quite pleased, not with the result, but pleased with the way we handled ourselves."

The Chiefs are notoriously fast starters - no team in the competition can match them for tries inside the opening 20 minutes. It took just three for them to strike in Canberra as Luke Jacobson darted down the blind off the back of a scrum and sold Andy Muirhead a dummy to score.

Len Ikitau hit back for the hosts, who soon found themselves undermanned when captain Allan Alaalatoa was shown a yellow card for dangerous contact, but they would be their own worst enemy for the bulk of the contest.

The Brumbies missed 19 tackles in the first half - enough to leave any player fearing the wrath of Laurie Fisher as they went to the sheds for oranges - and trailed by 10 points at the break.

Things only went further south when Pete Samu left the field with a shoulder injury in the 43^rd minute. Lonergan and Alaalatoa joined him on the sideline as the Chiefs extended the margin against a disjointed defensive line.

Samu would eventually return, but it did little to stop the bleeding against a Chiefs side who have again stamped their authority as Super Rugby's team to beat in search of their first title in 10 years.

"It's never easy coming to Canberra and winning," Chiefs playmaker Damian McKenzie said.

"A lot of our play came off kick returns and a little bit of broken play. I'm just proud of particularly the forwards. The Brumbies have got a great forward pack and really look to use their set piece, and they've got some sharp backs as well."

AT A GLANCE

Super Rugby Pacific round 14: WAIKATO CHIEFS 31 (Cortez Ratima 2, Luke Jacobson, Josh Ioane, Shaun Stevenson tries; Damian McKenzie 4 conversions; McKenzie penalty) bt ACT BRUMBIES 21 (Len Ikitau, Corey Toole, Pete Samu tries; Noah Lolesio, Klayton Thorn conversions) at Canberra Stadium.

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