Brumbies braced for battle in the House of Pain

DUNEDIN’S House of Pain awaits to derail the ACT Brumbies’ push for a semi-finals’ berth in this week’s Super 12 rugby feature match.

Otago’s forbidding fortress has proved an impenetrable obstacle for most visiting teams, but the 2001 champions cannot afford to go away from Friday’s Anzac Day collision empty-handed.

The fourth-placed Brumbies are three points ahead of the Highlanders with three matches left, but defeat at Dunedin’s Carisbrook ground will leave them with the task of having to beat second-placed Wellington Hurricanes away and third-placed Canterbury Crusaders at home to reach the finals.