Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham wasn’t hunting for excuses after a stunning loss to the Rebels on Saturday night, keen to move on quickly.
The Brumbies were far from the side that sliced through the Reds a week ago, in an "ordinary" affair against the Rebels, Larkham said.
“Pretty ordinary game to watch, lots of mistakes, lots of penalties and it lacked momentum for both sides and ended up a lot scrappier than we would've liked,” he said.
“I think our execution was off a little bit and then they credited by taking the points in the second half and got the win.
“You're not really going to look back on this result. For us, it's about moving forward as quickly as possible, making sure our preparation for the next game against the Hurricanes is as good as it can be.”
It was the elements the Brumbies usually find themselves counting on that fell apart late in the game, most crucially when conceding a 78th minute scrum penalty that gave Reece Hodge the winning score.
Captain Sam Carter said those lapses in set piece could only end one way.
“Normally in tight situations and matches that go to a grind, that's something we can back ourselves on, especially with our set piece but towards the end of the second half, we just didn't have that tonight,” he said.
“If you let the other team into the game without creating any pressure that’s the result you're going to get, so we need to learn from this game and get better.” - Sam Carter.
The Brumbies could only yield one try in a 10-minute period where the Rebels found themselves down to 13 men, a sign of the chances they missed.
Lopeti Timani’s yellow card for kneeing Rory Arnold in the head, should have been a red, according to Larkham, though the backrower made fleeting contact with Arnold’s face.
“It's a knee to the head, that's a red card isn't it?” Larkham said.
“I don't know I guess they'll deal with that afterwards but you don't want a guy to get sent off to win a game, you still want to play well.”
Timanu was cited on Sunday morning and was due to have the case heard at 7pm.
The Brumbies travel to Wellington to take on the Hurricanes on Friday night, in a bid to break New Zealand’s trans-Tasman stranglehold.
