KEY POINTS:
Wallabies great Stephen Larkham has said his farewells to Canberra but he is determined not to end his Super 14 career tonight.
Larkham and fellow Brumbies George Gregan and Jeremy Paul had emotional send-offs when they beat the Crusaders at Canberra Stadium last week and will tonight play what is potentially their last game against the Highlanders at Carisbrook.
The Brumbies need to win and hope other results go their way if they are to make the semifinals.
To stay in contention, the Brumbies must win at Carisbrook and that would be a first.
"We've spoken about it this year. Among our goals were to win in Hamilton, Durban and Dunedin," said Larkham. "We got two of those, so a big focus is to pick up the third."
Larkham and Gregan have had some success at Carisbrook - they were part of the Australian team that won the Bledisloe Cup test in Dunedin in 2001.
The Brumbies are on a five-game winning streak and coming off a gritty 15-6 win against the Crusaders, a result that reflected the team's self-belief and confidence, Larkham said.
Emotions may have played a part last week, with the departure of stalwart players being motivation to perform, but the 95-test veteran is resisting contemplating the prospect of an extraordinary Brumbies era coming to a close.
"We're trying not to think about it. We had such a big build-up to our last home game and that was a little bit distracting," Larkham said.
"We're keeping it quiet and switching on to the job at hand. This is like a grand final for us because, if we lose, we're out?"
Larkham said he had been fortunate to play 11 years for what he considered the best rugby organisation in the world.
That comment puts the Highlanders' recent efforts against the Brumbies in the spotlight as they have won five of their last six games against the two-time champions.
Brumbies coach Laurie Fisher believes the Highlanders have had success in the past because of their forward power.
"I think the Highlanders are always fired up against us. I think they've seen us as a bit of a soft target if they take us on and are confrontational."
- Otago Daily Times
Scores
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