'Real sour taste': Ex-Brumby's warning as Slipper damage revealed

Which is why the Western Force scrumhalf isn't shying away from what's at stake against the ACT Brumbies in Perth on Saturday night.

The Force are unbeaten at home in their past four games and must continue that streak to have any hope of sneaking into the Super Rugby Pacific finals, while the Brumbies arrive chasing a top-two finish.

White has experienced the highs of domestic success and the lows of a grand final defeat with the Brumbies. He captained the club and will go down as one of the ACT's favourite sons.

But this week he has "a real sour taste" in his mouth after the Force were pumped by 46 points against Queensland last week, which left them in search of a minor miracle to reach the top eight.

The Force need a win against the third-placed ACT while counting on the Fijian Drua and Crusaders to lose their round 15 fixtures to sneak into the finals, and White will be watching every moment hoping his finals dream can stay alive.

"To be honest, after the game we had on the weekend, our full focus is on putting on a performance we can be proud of in front of the sea of blue at home, where we have performed well, we are capable of doing it," White said.

"All the external stuff, whilst that may have been a focus over the last few weeks, we're purely focused on our performance this week. We know we're up against a side that will turn up. The Brumbies are a tough opposition.

"We've put ourselves in this position and the only thing we can control is our performance and how we go. If the stars align, that's great. We've all been in this position before, where you can get distracted really quickly, and maybe that happened last week. This week, we're going to make sure that doesn't happen.

"We may have given the Brumbies a little scare at the start of the season but this is a completely different week, a different team coming over, so our focus has to be completely on what we can do this week."

James Slipper is racing the clock to play in the Super Rugby Pacific finals after scans revealed a torn calf in what could be a major blow to the ACT Brumbies' title hopes.

The Brumbies prop will miss the trip to Perth to take on the Western Force on Saturday night but hopes he can feature in the finals, with Canberra Stadium to host a quarter-final on June 8.

Slipper's injury is understood to be a grade one calf tear, which often recover within two to four weeks, sparking hope he can be fit during the sudden-death finals series.

Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham will turn to Blake Schoupp and Harry Vella to fill the void at loosehead prop, with Schoupp poised to return from a shoulder injury.

Schoupp looked destined to be sidelined until the finals but a timely recovery makes him an option to start in the front row against a desperate Force outfit trying to keep their finals dream alive.

Brumbies hooker Billy Pollard says Schoupp's return is crucial for an ACT outfit desperate to address issues at scrum time as they prepare to take on the competition's best in the finals.

"Obviously we have very good looseheads. We've got Vel and Schouppy coming back this week. They're just really good young players coming through and they've shown what they can do for us in the past," Pollard said.

"We're really confident they can help us this week. [Schoupp] has been into his rehab lately and he has been doing really well. It's really good to see him back out there.

"[He brings] so much energy, particularly around the scrum. He just absolutely lives for it and it's really good having guys like that in the team, you know they'll lock it down or try to get a penalty out of it. It's really exciting to have them back and really excited to see them out there.

"It's going to make a big difference. He's extremely strong, his energy he brings to the scrum - he lives for it - that energy can make all the difference in the world, particularly in the later stages of the half or the game.

"It's really important to have someone like him. We have a lot of guys who have that passion for the scrum, and hopefully we can just show it more going forward."

The Brumbies head to Perth with a chance of finishing inside the top two, which could give them a rails run on home turf during the finals - but they are relying on the competition-leading Blues and Hurricanes to lose in the final round.

Third place seems the most likely landing spot for the Brumbies, who are desperate to emulate the heroes of 2004 by winning a grand final after years of finals heartbreak.

"Finals is extremely important. The last couple of years we fell short. It's something we're looking tor rectify and we're looking to have a really solid finals campaign," Pollard said.

"The Force at home is extremely tough challenge. They have a lot to play for this week, we're aware of that, and we certainly give them the respect they deserve. We're not taking this game lightly in any sense.

"We're going over there to win and to put us in good stead towards finals."