One year after the disappointment of losing 25-35 their Super Rugby Pacific quarterfinal against the Brumbies in Canberra, the Hurricanes know what to expect and what they need to do about it ahead of Saturday's game.

Assistant coach Chris Gibbes said the Hurricanes were where they needed to be. In spite of some inconsistency during the season, they were in the playoffs, and that was all they were focusing on.

He was confident the side had momentum, having improved on their earlier losses to the Chiefs and Blues.

"We're under no illusions what's coming. We've been before with this group to Canberra and the Brumbies and we know what to expect. We're not taking anything for granted."

He said that the issues that made Canberra such a difficult place to win stemmed from getting in and out of the city, the home crowd, and the cold.

The lessons from last year's quarterfinal were: execution in big games was crucial, understanding possession was paramount in holding onto the ball and being good enough to use it in tough conditions.

No8 Brayden Iose, who scored an outstanding individual try to put the game beyond the Crusaders' reach, said there was a great feeling in the dressing room afterwards, but attention had switched to the big job they had in front of them in Canberra.

 

 

Iose said he had not experienced Saturday's crowd support and atmosphere in Wellington in his time with the side.

It was a feeling the players would remember during the challenging moments in the games ahead.

He said they needed their second-half effort because it showed them when they did things well, they could play a style that was hard to defend and was the exciting brand of rugby they wanted to play.

The key for the Brumbies game would be having good internal focus.

"We're at our best when we control what we can control, when we play our brand of rugby. We know it is a task to go to Canberra and play. It's an intimidating, cold and daunting place to go. We've prepared well and hopefully throughout the week we can and nail the things we need to nail and come out and play freely."

The Brumbies would be challenging as they were big and physical while using a good kicking game.

Gibbes said there was no indication of flanker Du'Plessis Kirifi's availability for the game after he was forced to withdraw from last week's game with a bicep injury.

QUARTERFINAL: Brumbies v Hurricanes, Saturday 10 June, 7.35pm AEST, GIO Stadium, Canberra.