A famous win will be the catalyst for crowds returning to Brumbies home games.
That’s what coach Dan McKellar is hoping after the ACT team defied the odds in South Africa on Sunday morning to defeat the Bulls 38-28.
The Brumbies were down to 14 men for the final 17 minutes but managed to run over the top of the Pretoria-based Super Rugby franchise.
The result broke a five-game losing streak and will go down as one of the most courageous wins in club history.
It comes at a time when their entire existence has been talked about after they drew only 5283 spectators to their game against Melbourne at GIO Stadium.
In an email sent to members last week, chief executive Michael Thomson and chairman Phil Thomson explained “without your support … the Brumbies may no longer exist.”
The Brumbies have drawn on three Canberra charities to target a crowd of 15,000 for the game against the Sunwolves on June 3.
“We’ll enjoy the win (against the Bulls) but what’s really important is going home and putting in a good performance and a brand of rugby that we want to play in front of our home supporters,” McKellar said.
“There’s a push for 15,000 people there and wins like tonight hopefully make that figure realistic.
“You’d like to think not just this performance but last week’s as well shows our fans and our supporters what we’re about as a club.
“As a club you’ve got to have revenue and bring money through the door to remain viable.”
The only downside to the Brumbies’ fourth win of the season was hooker Folau Faingaa being sent off for a headbutt.
Faingaa is in Wallabies contention, but any suspension could cost him a chance to feature for Australia in the June Test series against Ireland.
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