Key decisions cost Brumbies in Super Rugby semi-final loss to Chiefs

It was the 66^th minute. Stephen Larkham's side trailing by three and hot on the attack, the driving maul seemingly destined to steamroll the Chiefs pack.

But the maul went down and moments later Pita Gus Sowakula had dived over the ruck and knocked the ball out of scrumhalf Ryan Lonergan's hands.

They were two acts many referees would have penalised. In Hamilton, however, Nic Berry did not. Instead, he awarded a scrum to the Chiefs and the game turned in an instant.

Another 50-50 call went the hosts way moments later and they scored the final 10 points to secure a hard-fought 19-6 victory.

The Brumbies were aggrieved with the decisions and justifiably so. Larkham said post-game he felt Sowakula's actions warranted a penalty and a yellow card. You'd back ACT to close out the contest against 14 men.

Instead, it's the Chiefs who have turned their focus to Saturday's Super Rugby final, the Brumbies left to ponder what could have been.

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For the ACT, Saturday's match was a reminder of why it's so hard to win games across the Tasman.

No Australian team has won a Super Rugby final in New Zealand in the competition's 27-year history.

Twelve months ago, the Brumbies were left to lament another controversial call that did not go their way late in their semi-final loss to the Auckland Blues.

Decisions invariably go to the home team in big moments and Saturday was no different.

It's why sides fight so hard to finish on top of the ladder and why ACT will lament a number of crucial moments throughout the season.

The loss to the Hurricanes in Wellington was one the Brumbies felt they let slip but the key game came a few weeks later in Perth.

Larkham was forced to rest a host of stars under Rugby Australia's load management policy and the Western Force took advantage.

Not only did they defeat the Brumbies, but they denied their opponents a crucial bonus point. The point was the difference between finishing third and fourth on the ladder. A win over the Force would have secured a home semi-final.

Saturday's loss showed how important that could have been.

While the defeat marked the end of an era, the future remains bright in Canberra.

Larkham will be back for his second year in charge, a host of young stars will only get better and skipper Allan Alaalatoa headlines a lengthy list of players to have re-signed for 2024 and beyond.

The team's championship window is still open and given how close they came this season, they only require a handful of minor tweaks to get over the hump.

If there's anything they can take out of this year, it's the importance of finishing in the top two and taking control of their own destiny.

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