The Brumbies have received a boost going into their vital Super Rugby match against the Hurricanes by securing the signature of scrumhalf Joe Powell for the next two years.
Powell is coming off playing his fourth Test for the Wallabies and had no hesitation in extending his stay in Canberra until the end of the 2020 season.
“I’m happy to be staying in Canberra, I don’t think there was any way I was going anywhere else so it’s definitely nice,” Powell told reporters on Friday.
It comes as the Brumbies look to keep their faint finals hopes alive when they host the Wellington-based team at GIO Stadium on Saturday night.
The Brumbies sit third in the Australian conference behind the NSW Waratahs and Melbourne and need to win all three remaining games to be any chance of making the top-eight.
They haven’t missed the finals since 2012.
But their hopes of beating a New Zealand team for the first time since the start of the 2016 season have been helped by injury problems plaguing the Hurricanes.
All Blacks Beauden Barrett, Vaea Fifita and Ardie Savea won’t make the trip across the Tasman.
Neither will Hurricanes captain and England international Brad Shields, who is still suffering from the virus that saw him miss a Test against South Africa.
Brumbies co-captain Christian Lealiifano says his team isn’t getting caught up in the hype surrounding the must-win game.
“We haven’t thought a lot about where we’ll end up, it’s about putting out our best performance in front of our home fans (for the last time this season),” Lealiifano told reporters on Friday.
“(The break) has given us an opportunity to work on a few extra things in our game.
“Having that (exhibition) game in the middle of June in Japan was really good for the group.”
While the Hurricanes, who sit second on the overall ladder, will be missing four star players, the Brumbies also have injury concerns.
The absence of Wallabies prop Allan Alaalatoa (ankle), co-captain Sam Carter and the valuable Lachlan McCaffrey (both back) will rob the Brumbies of crucial experience.
