Australia New Zealand Canberra county Hamilton Rugby on call Australia New Zealand Canberra county Hamilton

Brumbies call on psychology coach in bid to end New Zealand hoodoo

channelnewsasia.com

MELBOURNE : The ACT Brumbies have been building belief through a psychology coach ahead of the Super Rugby Pacific semi-final against Waikato Chiefs as they look to become the first Australian side to win a playoff in New Zealand.The twice champion Brumbies are Australia's last chance to win the provincial competition but must beat the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday and then travel to face the winner of the Canterbury Crusaders and Auckland Blues.Lock Tom Hooper said the Brumbies' psychology coach had been helping them build a winning mindset as they prepare for the table-topping Chiefs."We're always learning, we're always evolving," Hooper told Australian media."We've got a psych coach in - every little detail that we can do just to try and get better because at the end of the day, let's be real, the New Zealand teams getting better and better every year."So do we, and we've got to match them."The Brumbies knocked out the Wellington Hurricanes 37-33 in Canberra over the weekend after the Chiefs fended off the Queensland Reds 29-20 in Hamilton.Saturday's match will be replay of the 2013 decider which saw the Chiefs claim a 27-22 win to earn back-to-back championships."I saw a stat on the telly (TV) that no Australian team had won in 14 (finals) games in New Zealand and we definitely want to put an end to that," said Hooper."Someone's got to be the first.

Related News
New Zealand coach Jitka Klimkova said the "Football Ferns" would fight for their country at the Women's World Cup they are co-hosting with Australia after naming her 23-woman squad for the tournament on Friday (Jun 30).
Defending champions England will open the 2023 men’s ODI World Cup when they face New Zealand in Ahmedabad, India on October 5. The two sides contested the dramatic 2019 final at Lord’s which England won on boundary count after a tied finish.
New Zealand centre Anton Lienert-Brown will miss at least the first two games of the Rugby Championship after getting a three-week ban for a dangerous tackle in Waikato Chiefs' Super Rugby Pacific final loss to Canterbury Crusaders, SANZAAR said.
Wales began their Under-20s World Championship campaign with a narrow defeat at the hands of New Zealand in Paarl on Saturday.
Wales begin their World Rugby Under-20 Championship campaign against the might of New Zealand in Cape Town.
Midfielder Annalie Longo is in a race to recover from a serious knee injury and make New Zealand's Women's World Cup squad, but will gladly endure pain to play in front of home fans if selectors back her.

Latest News

Change privacy settings
This page might use cookies if your analytics vendor requires them.